Often
people face problem while making a circuit on a bread board. It is a
common problem that the circuit may work some time and may not work
other time. Most of the time it is the connections on the bread board
which creates this problem. Either are connections are not proper or
loose or may get damaged while working or carrying the circuit on a
bread board. Hence it is always recommended to make the circuit on a PCB
once it has been tested on a bread board. This article will explain the process of making a single layer PCB at home with the use of commonly available tools.
A printed circuit board
has pre-designed copper tracks on a conducting sheet. The pre-defined
tracks reduce the wiring thereby reducing the faults arising due to lose
connections. One needs to simply place the components on the PCB and
solder them.
Materials required:
- Over Head Projector sheet (known as OHP sheets) or a wax paper
- Laser Printer
- Electric Iron.
- Steel wool.
- Two plastic trays
- Copper board/ PCB (eg: paper phenolic, glass epoxy, FR4, FR10, etc.)
- Black permanent marker.
- Etching solution (Ferric chloride).
- Drill machine.
Step 1:
Prepare a layout of the circuit on any commonly used PCB designing
software. A layout is a design which interconnects the components
according to the schematic diagram (circuit diagram). Take a mirror
image print of the layout on the OHP sheet using a laser printer. Make
sure that the design is correct with proper placement of the components.