Making printed circuit boards
There are many ways to produce your own printed circuit boards. Small boards for DC switching circuits are easy to make because neither the size nor the shape of the copper foil traces is critical. Boards containing many digital ICs are considerably harder to lay out and etch.
There are also some double-sided digital board designs with plated-through holes. These types of boards aren’t reproducible and you’re better off buying them from the source. Many articles have been published on the use of stencil and rubyliths in conjunction with sensitized pc boards and light tables. These techniques are good for the more complicated boards or for making multiple boards. The process involves making a positive or negative artwork, exposing and developing the light sensitive board, and then etching the board. Most homebrewers don’t have access to light tables, developing solutions, and darkroom facilities. I use light sensitive methods for many of my pc boards – mostly for digital IC boards or multiple boards of the same design. What follows are some pc board techniques you can use instead of these facilities.
There are ways to produce RF microstrip and small DC pc boards in minutes without light tables, some without the etching process. Basically, there are four methods. Each method has its own variations, depending on the board
material.