Laser Etching PCB

（laser etching circuit board）

How to get PCB etching at home

Brief introduction for etching PCB with CO2 laser

With the assistance of a CO2 laser cutter, the circuit traces covered by the spray paint can be precisely etched and exposed. In actuality, the CO2 laser etches the paint rather than the actual copper. Once the paint is removed, the exposed copper enables smooth circuit conduction. As we are aware, the conductive medium - copper clad board - facilitates the connection for electronic components and circuit conduction. Our task is to expose the copper according to the PCB design file. In this process, we utilize the CO2 laser cutter for PCB etching, which is straightforward and requires readily available materials. You can explore creative PCB designs by trying this at home.

— Prepare

• Copper Clad Board • Sandpaper • PCB design file • CO2 laser cutter • Spray Paint • Ferric Chloride Solution • Alcohol Wipe • Acetone Washing Solution

— Making Steps (how to etch a PCB)

1. Handle PCB design file to vector file (the outer contour is gonna to be laser etched) and load it into a laser system

2. No rough up the copper clad board with sandpaper, and clean off the copper with the rubbing alcohol or acetone, ensuring there are no oils and grease left.

3. Hold the circuit board in the pliers and give a thin spray painting on that

4. Place the copper board on the working table and start laser etching the surface painting

5. After etching, wipe away the etched paint residue using alcohol

6. Put it in the PCB etchant solution (ferric chloride) to etch the exposed copper

7. Resolve the spray paint with acetone washing solvent (or a paint remover such as Xylene or paint thinner). Bathe or wipe the remaining black paint off of the boards are accessible.

8. Drill the holes

9. Solder the electronic elements through the holes

10. Finished

It's a clever way to etch the exposed copper with small areas and can be executed at home. Also, a low-power laser cutter can make it thanks to the easy removal of spray paint. The easy availability of the materials and easy operation of the CO2 laser machine make the method popular and easy, thus you can make the pcb at home, spending less time. Furthermore, quick prototyping can be realized by the CO2 laser engraving pcb, allowing various pcbs designs to be customized and fast realized.

CO2 laser pcb etching machine is suitable for signal layer, double layers and multiple layers of pcbs. You can use it to diy your pcb design at home, and also put the CO2 laser machine into practical pcbs production. High repeatability and consistency of high precision are excellent advantages for laser etching and laser engraving, ensuring the premium quality of PCBs. Detailed information to get from laser engraver 100.

Additional guess (for reference only)

If the spray paint is functional to protect the copper from being etched, the film or foil may be accessible to replace the paint as the same role. Under the condition, we only need to peel off the film cut by laser machine which seem like more convenient.

Any confusion and questions about how to laser etch PCB

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How to laser etching PCB in production

UV laser, green laser, or fiber laser are widely adopted and take advantage of the high-power laser beam to remove the unwanted copper, leaving the copper traces according to the given design files. No need for paint, no need for etchant, the process of laser PCB etching is completed in one pass, minimizing the operation steps and saving time and materials cost.

Benefiting from the fine laser beam and computer-control system, the laser PCB etching machine perfects the ability to solve the problem. In addition to the precision, no mechanical damage and stress on the surface material due to the contact-less processing make the laser etching stand out among the mill, routing methods.