My (finally !) Succesful DIY PCB Making, using the Laser Printer Toner method..

[Jidis]

Btw i spy a neve eq :) ...whats the story with that one ? ..hopefully, liike the SSL Comp, its not a small fortune in hadrd to find components ;)

If you mean mine, I sort of doubt it ;)

You'll need a 74HC595, a 165 and a PIC (it's got an MB64 app in it ;D). It just runs as a front end for the 1073 plug from the Universal Audio software.  ...Well, it could. I think I used it once and then ripped it apart for some reason. I may do another later with a better panel and I wasn't happy with the case joinery either (it's a CDROM box). once you rip the "side" off a CDROM case, it becomes really flimsy and has to be reinforced. I learned some junk when I did that one, and built a small cheap metal brake for bending, so I may have better luck on the next. If you saw that one picture with the pile, you'll know I've got a few to play with.

George

PS- If you get any good techniques (and pictures) for filling in the etched areas in the aluminum, please post. :)

[Therezin]

@Jidis: I assume that when you're etching alu with HCl, the bits you want shiny are the ones you coat with toner? Silly question, but I's gots ta ask...

@Artesia: That s**t is hot.

[RTurner]

Therezin:

When you etch aluminum with HCl, you have to use a negative mask.  That is, you have to mask the areas you don't want etched.  BTW, even though it'll darken the areas that get etched, this wipes off pretty easily... I believe that the dark stuff is AlCl- the main differences in appearance are A) (the most obvious) it's etched, and with a 5-10 minute dunk can etch as deep as an engraver would cut B) It dulls the area that's etched, making it look more like zinc.  C) It pits the etched areas, which IMHO looks pretty cool. 

Unless you want to make the stuff boil over, make sure to mask the edges and the back of whatever you're etching.  Also, this reaction, if my chemistry class from 10+ years ago still serves me right, releases hydrogen gas, so, as always, do this outdoors, and don't hold any lit cigarettes over the etch (though it honestly probably couldn't do more than singe your eyebrows).

HCl will attack most metals, so you're not just limited to Aluminum.  In fact, an ancient recipe for an etchant that will dissolve pretty much any metal is called Aqua Regia, and is a mixture of HCl and Nitric acids.  Though Aluminum is the most dramatic, etching pretty much instantly.

The etched parts don't have a whole lot of contrast from the regular panel, so you could do something like use a low-viscosity enamel paint to kind-of fill-in the etched areas. 

Good luck

Robin

[Artesia]

hey.. well heres a method i used to use to black out lettering made with punch stamps...

I used to paint roughly over the areas with the indents with a tough enamel paint. wait for it to set; then use a really fine grade of sand paper to lift off the paint which is not recessed into the indents.. if the paint isnt rubbery, this will result in a clean break ...and allow you to polish up the front pannel to a nice sheen :)

After that ...wipe down & sling over some clear laquer.

Quote Therezin: "@Artesia: That s**t is hot."

...hmm which s**t ? :) ...pcbs or something else ? can't bask in approval, without knowing what its for ;) :)

[Jidis]

Yeah, painting the whole thing and then sanding it down lightly (leaving the paint in the recess) was what I ultimately did on that test piece. The original guitar pedal tutorial I read just used the sanded sludge from the masked areas. It ends up going into the recess anyway. That didn't turn out dark enough for my liking. With the deep etched areas, you barely even need color in them to read them, but the sludge was sort of a really dark, flat gray, rather than solid black. Still looks good. Sort of industrial looking though.

Be careful with the sanding part. It's easy for the sandpaper,etc. to rub away at the darkened areas if they're wide enough (not generally a problem with regular text). On my test, I rubbed it across a flat sharpening block. Sticking the panel to a work surface with some double-sided tape and hitting it with a belt sander worked as well (hand sanding with paper may not).

The inverted method for the transfer can get messy too. you're talking about a lot of black (toner) area to be covered. Best to leave the large spaces blank and brush or tape something over them for a mask (I think that was on the pedal tutorial).

George

PS@Robin - I like that pitting thing too. It's easier to see with gloss paint in the etch. Here's a picture where the glare hit it more:

- BTW, that black area that says "test test" is really only 5mm tall.

[stryd_one]

wha? So the "e" in "test" is like 2.5mm tall? I thought it looked pretty messy, but I didn't realise it was a macro photo ;)

Is this the tutorial you guys are using?

I notice there's a kind of bubbly/pitted look in the black area, is that the texture of the etched aluminium, or the paint? I'm kinda interested in this whole etching thing for front panels, but I want a black panel with metal lettering/ines and I'm not so sure that'll work out OK...

[Artesia]

my.. this thread is growing to quite some size already..

i guess the bumpyiness is exadurated by both magnifycation and the focused nature of the flash light in that picture; also if it is unsightly, a decent thick coat of paint over the lettering will smooth other that bumpyiness no problem :)

[Jidis]

Good call Stryd. ;D

I just checked it and the "e" comes out to 2.43mm (give or take some). Yeah the camera really magnified everything. The bumpy look is indeed the texture of the etch, but you only see that in a large etched area like shapes and graphics. Regular text doesn't really show it, and as Artesia mentioned, I'd guess paint could also cover it. I want to be able to do black panels as well, but was initially thinking of starting with a black panel and doing the labels with toner and white TRF. I'm not sure how you could etch and leave the black, unless maybe you could do an anodized panel or something (if the etchant will still eat it).

And yes- That's the same tutorial. Thanks for the link! 

I just shot the thing again along with some familiar faces to get a better idea of the size:

That's sort of a bad picture as far as the clarity of the text goes. Keep in mind also, that this particular etch was a pretty sloppy first run. The semi-gloss black spray was done after a couple other trials, which also included sanding and burning down more metal. The paint doesn't look good either. It came out splotchy looking, as you can still see some of the duller parts. The specks and crap are my fault. I tinkered around with it a bunch, as I wasn't really sure about the etch time. The etchant makes a thick bubbly goo on the metal, which I brushed off a couple times to check the progress. I may have scratched into the paint doing that or flipping the piece around with something, but I didn't think I'd be taking pictures of the thing afterward anyway. ;)

Take Care,

George