Material for scrubbing Cu-clad boards
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From: pimpom on 16 Mar 2010 14:17 Archimedes' Lever wrote: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:43:07 GMT, bok118(a)zonnet.nl (Gerard Bok) > wrote: > >> On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:21:22 +0530, "pimpom" >> <pimpom(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: >> >>> This is for those of you who are making their own PCBs for >>> hobby, >>> prototyping and low-volume production. >>> >>> I've seen things like fine sandpaper and steelwool >>> recommended on >>> hobbyist websites for cleaning copper-clad boards prior to >>> transferring the pattern and etching. >> >>> I feel no need to look for a better material, but I'm curious >>> about what others are using. >> >> It has been quite a while, but in the old days I used Seno >> Polyblock. That is (or was) a kind of big (matchbox sized) >> crayon >> eraser, specially made to clean Cu plating. >> http://www.hamers.de/en/electronics/print6.php >> shows a picture. > > > The acid is going to eat it off of ALL the unmasked areas and > a > little tarnish wont stop it. I think abrasive scrubbing was > overkill > this whole time. But FeCl3 has a hard time eating through grease and finger smudges. I always have a stack of 12"x12" copper-clads in stock and some of them go through a lot of handling and shuffling before it's their turn to be used. And since it's best to remove any tarnish anyway before soldering, scrubbing followed by a thorough rinsing in running water ensures a smooth process.
From: pimpom on 16 Mar 2010 14:19 Gerard Bok wrote: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:55:53 -0700, Archimedes' Lever > <OneBigLever(a)InfiniteSeries.Org> wrote: > >> On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:43:07 GMT, bok118(a)zonnet.nl (Gerard >> Bok) >> wrote: >> >>> On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:21:22 +0530, "pimpom" >>> <pimpom(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: >>> >>>> This is for those of you who are making their own PCBs for >>>> hobby, >>>> prototyping and low-volume production. >>>> >>>> I've seen things like fine sandpaper and steelwool >>>> recommended on >>>> hobbyist websites for cleaning copper-clad boards prior to >>>> transferring the pattern and etching. >>> >>>> I feel no need to look for a better material, but I'm >>>> curious >>>> about what others are using. >>> >>> It has been quite a while, but in the old days I used Seno >>> Polyblock. That is (or was) a kind of big (matchbox sized) >>> crayon >>> eraser, specially made to clean Cu plating. >>> http://www.hamers.de/en/electronics/print6.php >>> shows a picture. >> >> >> The acid is going to eat it off of ALL the unmasked areas and >> a >> little tarnish wont stop it. I think abrasive scrubbing was >> overkill this whole time. > > Acid ? > I use Polyblock to remove the photolayer. > That is after the etching process :-) I was really talking about pre-etch cleaning.
From: tlbs101 on 16 Mar 2010 14:27 On Mar 16, 8:05 am, John Larkin <jjlar...(a)highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:21:22 +0530, "pimpom" <pim...(a)invalid.invalid> > wrote: > > > > > > >This is for those of you who are making their own PCBs for hobby, > >prototyping and low-volume production. > > >I've seen things like fine sandpaper and steelwool recommended on > >hobbyist websites for cleaning copper-clad boards prior to > >transferring the pattern and etching. 40 years ago, I used wood > >ash. It worked quite well but wasn't always readily available. > >Then I tried tooth powder as it's more abrasive than toothpaste. > >It sort of worked, but required too much scrubbing. Then I got > >the idea of using household scrubbing powder. It works fast, > >having just the right amount of abrasive property with no danger > >of inflicting deep scratches. Vim and Biz are two popular Indian > >brands. > > >I feel no need to look for a better material, but I'm curious > >about what others are using. > > Scotchbrite, with soapy water. When scotchbrite was first invented, it > was a very expensive industrial product and one of the first markets > was PCB fabbers. Years later it became a household product. > > Use the green kind, the more agressive stuff, not the gentle version. > > John- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - I'm with John... I use a Scotchbrite pad with soap, too. Tom P.
From: Jim Yanik on 16 Mar 2010 14:35 Jim Thompson <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon(a)My-Web-Site.com> wrote in news:ee9vp5lr5kpo5ur1lp2mlkcd15n0891j75(a)4ax.com: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:21:22 +0530, "pimpom" <pimpom(a)invalid.invalid> > wrote: > >>This is for those of you who are making their own PCBs for hobby, >>prototyping and low-volume production. >> >>I've seen things like fine sandpaper and steelwool recommended on >>hobbyist websites for cleaning copper-clad boards prior to >>transferring the pattern and etching. 40 years ago, I used wood >>ash. It worked quite well but wasn't always readily available. >>Then I tried tooth powder as it's more abrasive than toothpaste. >>It sort of worked, but required too much scrubbing. Then I got >>the idea of using household scrubbing powder. It works fast, >>having just the right amount of abrasive property with no danger >>of inflicting deep scratches. Vim and Biz are two popular Indian >>brands. >> >>I feel no need to look for a better material, but I'm curious >>about what others are using. >> > > There used to be a liquid cleaner for "Revere Ware", the copper > -bottom cooking pots. Use with a plastic or nylon scrubbing pad. > > ...Jim Thompson Tarn-X works well,or Barkeeper's Friend. steelwool leaves tiny bits of itself behind. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at localnet dot com
From: pimpom on 16 Mar 2010 14:39
Hammy wrote: > On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:21:22 +0530, "pimpom" > <pimpom(a)invalid.invalid> > wrote: > >> This is for those of you who are making their own PCBs for >> hobby, >> prototyping and low-volume production. >> >> I've seen things like fine sandpaper and steelwool recommended >> on >> hobbyist websites for cleaning copper-clad boards prior to >> transferring the pattern and etching. 40 years ago, I used >> wood >> ash. It worked quite well but wasn't always readily available. >> Then I tried tooth powder as it's more abrasive than >> toothpaste. >> It sort of worked, but required too much scrubbing. Then I got >> the idea of using household scrubbing powder. It works fast, >> having just the right amount of abrasive property with no >> danger >> of inflicting deep scratches. Vim and Biz are two popular >> Indian >> brands. >> >> I feel no need to look for a better material, but I'm curious >> about what others are using. >> > I use 400grit or finer sandpaper lightly and I don't get deep > grooves. > I suppose for RF you would want a very light abrasive so as to > keep > the cooper uniform. This assumes the board itself already has > uniform > copper distribution. I doubt that most general purpose boards > have > precision distribution . I suppose not. I'm not really concerned about that, but it's nice to know that individual particles of the scouring powder are not hard enough to score deeply into the copper. What I didn't mention earlier was that I keep board and powder wet while scrubbing. A level teaspoonful of powder is more than enough to get a palm-sized board sparkling clean without any visible nicks and scratches, and it takes under a minute of mild scrubbing unless the board is heavily tarnished. |