On Wednesday 17 May 2006 18:04, Nick LaForge wrote: > Hello, > > How far can a electronics hobbiest go before he hits manufacturing > limitations? I recently read a few articles describing methods to > etch a blank PCB by pouring acid over a laserjet printed toner layout > that resists acid, creating a finished PCB. One could then add > capacitors, resistors, and ICs... but how far can one go? I
I've also read about this technique in the past; I don't see why it couldn't work. And at any rate, making your own PCBs is done by lots of electronics hobbyists. But this technique only lets you make single-layer or dual-sided PCBs. Multilayer PCBs, which you need for routing large amounts of traces, are much harder to make. I'm not sure whether that is within the reach of the hobbyist. Then you have to solder on the parts, which for surface mount discrete parts is doable. The problem is ICs with BGA connections. There are rumours of people who are able to solder those by hand by heating with a small gas torch, but for an average hobbyist it would probably become an expensive hobby indeed :-). I don't think an ordinary kitchen oven is accurate enough for this either, but I may be wrong. Anyway, I'm not an electronics hobbyist so I'll defer to any real experts, but I don't think something like OGD1 would be within range of the manufacturing capabilities of your average hobbyist. Lourens
pgpVrolk0fZeX.pgp
Description: PGP signature
_______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
