Make a PCB with a 3D printer (no mods required!)
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- Опубликовано: 9 май 2021
- This is a tutorial on how to use a 3D printer to make PCB, without modifying anything in your printer. It's the only tutorial, as far as I know, on how to make PCBs this way. I use flexible filament to mask the copper from the etchant.
Please let me know in the comments if you have seen this method before or if you like it.
It would be great as well if other people try this and share the results so we can all test how far we can go and if it has the potential to be an alternative for makers or small businesses.
Don't forget to subscribe! It's the first video but it would help the channel and you'll know when I upload new videos.
Thanks fo watching! 
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This is the most ridiculous but effective way of making simple PCBs... I would have never ever dare to do such simple strategy.
How does this guy only have 200 subs! This is the easiest method to make homemade PCB.
Great life hack!
Definitely will give it a try
People with a 3D printer seem to have a lot of options for making PCBs. This method is the one I am looking at primarily, since I don't really need any small details anyway. But if I did, a 405nm laser diode, such as one off a blu ray player mounted to the 3D printer in place of a hotend can print PCBs to photoresist film, then etch. You could get a 50mw laser engraver, spray paint over the copper, then burn that off with the engraver and etch. Or mount up a dremel motor with an engraving bit and cut out the traces.
I think for easy stuff that doesn't require a lot of precision, 3D printing directly to the board and etching is the way to go. For stuff that does require more precision, the 405nm laser and photoresist blanks are the way to go.
Great. I was also looking to check if someone has already tried this approach to etching. My 5 cents would be to try using electrical etching of copper in salty water instead of chemical etching. Then you only need the printer, filament, salt, raw pcb and power source (some people manage copper etching with just 9V batteries)
Perfect example of homemade
This is absolutely fantastic. I've been looking for if this was possible. I will try with TPU as I dont have ninjaflex. But I think they are similar.
I tool looked into plotter/pen methods. But this is so much simpler!!
Wooow you made me sure that I want a 3d printer.
I'm glad to hear that! It's a very nice tool. If you plan to make PCB's, consider looking for a direct extrusion printer, since you will have less problems using flexible filaments.
Very nice, will try it later
I have tried this before. But took a different approach. I printed my circuit directly on the normal bed then transfered it to copper clad. I used temproary fabric adhesive spray. It sort of worked, but when pressing the 3d printed circuit agains the pcb it creates a bit of squeeze out. And the squeezed out glue resist the etching ( feric chloride) My next attempt is going to be to print he circuit with a fairly highish layer height and the n rest a wight ontop of the circuit.
Sehr gute Idee. Vielen Dank für das Video
Thanks for the content
Like it, keep it up, nice video clip, thank you for sharing it :)
Exactly what I was looking for. I will try this with PLA and glue since I don't have flex filament yet. Thank you for video
Thank you for your comment! Let us know if it works with glue! The only problem I see is that glue might coat copper, so you can experience problems during etching, but I think it's worth trying. Thanks again!
@@frechetypen4524 You’re a legend
What were your results?
@@stefanmayer444 not big yet. I found out that this is possible, but I did not get stable results. I will try again with different glue or something and will share the results. But probably it will be easier to print a holder for permanent marker and use it to draw a circuit instead of printing on pcb :) I sure that's why I did not find much info about printing pcb with filament.
@@myaiditz Thanks :-)
It was a great idea
You can trace the original bit map image into vector form.
What about printing a reusable stencil using PLA? Then you can draw the layout using the stencil and a marker. Seems like that would let you make as many PCBs as necessary very quickly with just a single 3D printout.
I think it's a great idea. I'll try that for sure and if I get good results I'll share them. I think I'll try it with a resin printer too. I might get finer details. Thanks for the idea and merry Christmas!
@@frechetypen4524 you’re welcome! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out! If it does work, seems like it would also have a decent chance of working for double-sided PCBs, too if both stencils were sized and positioned right when each side is traced.
this was my first thought, it didn't work very well, the fine lines move around too much to fill in with a pen/sharpie, spray paint leaves too many holes unless you put a lot on, then it flows through the gaps, a paint brush is more gentle but has the problems of both the others.
i also tried a stamp, it's also not very reliable.
In Inkscape you can select your drawing and trace bitmap, delete the original layer, then save as .svg.
Thanks for the tip! I've barely used Inkscape, but I'll have a look.
Have you tried Hemp filament yet? Do you think it would have a good heat threshold?
Can you 3d print complex ones ?? To like build your own PC tower
Great idea!! Was that PLA though? Dude... 235° at 25mm/s is truly insane! #StringCity
My printer is garbage and I'm able to go to 70mm/s at about 220° with very reliable results.
He says in the video it's not pla, it's ninjaflex
What about printing an inverted design on a UV cure PCB?
Do you manually drill out the holes with a press drill?
Ja serve bem
Dear Freche Typen, I wonder what is a better procedure for PCB making in terms of PCB quality, the 0.2mm nozzle with the Ninjaflex filament or the UV resin procedure shown in your later video ? Thanks a lot. Best Regards, Pavel
Hi Pavel, I would say the Ninjaflex method is way easier, but in terms of good quality, the resin method was much more precise. But I have to say it took several attempts, so if I just wanted to test a prototype before ordering PCB's, I would probably try ninjaflex first, cause I don't have a good memory working with resin, it was very difficult. There are other methods using UV light (without resin) that seem easy and very precise, but I haven't tried them. I hope it helps.
@@frechetypen4524 Dear Freche Typen, thank you so much ! I will go the Ninjaflex with the 0.2mm nozzle. Kind Regards, Pavel
07:17
2 years ago, after a full day of trying I had concluded that it is not possible to do it with PLA
I also tried :)
is this pcb wokring real test?
Is there any unintended operation on the less covered area?
This was a first test and I don't even remember what it was, but I've done several tests later adjusting the printer parameters and changing the nozzle to 0.2 to make smaller details and they work. I hope I can make a better video soon.
This is going to be good for circuit with very wide copper traces. But it won't work for small traces. So when prototyping for example, you're going to have to re-layout your PCB with narrow traces when you want to send it to a real PCB maker, which is a bummer if you're intending to make real life PCBs
Hey Rachid, thanks for your comment. It is true that there is a limitation because of the nozzle diameter. But I have been trying to coat it with a 0.2 nozzle and it let you print much thinner lines. I was planning to make a video on that. I hope I have some time soon.
@@frechetypen4524 how did you get the 0.2 lines to stick and the etching agent not to cut underneath?
@@x87alpha1 I use a low printing speed and flexible filament. Other filaments don't work. And the thinner the line the more careful you have to be with the time you expose the PCB to the etchant, because it can happen what you say if it stays a bit longer. But you're right, it can be a problem. I'll cover that on another video.
@@frechetypen4524 ok, maybe a resin 3d printer will give better results. I couldn't get small traces to work but I was using a layer of copper tape.
@@x87alpha1 You've read my mind xD. I wanted to try it so much! I recently bought one and I'm sure it will work even better. Problem is that it is more common to have an fdm, so I guess it's handier for everybody to optimize the process with a "normal" printer. I recently looked if somebody have tried this with a resin printer and I could find a video, so maybe for the next video I'll prioritize testing different nozzles and filaments, since I'm sure people without direct extrusion printers will experiment problems with flexible filament. I'll try to find a more rigid material. I think that will be helpful for more people. But yes, I want to try resin so much!
What soloution did you use ?
It's sodium persulfate and hydrochloric acid (33%). For one liter of acid I use 360gr of sodium persulfate.
What chemical u using?
There an easier way to edit an image is flip image to negative more cleaner one
you still need to drill holes lmao
did you use pla+ ?
Actually I didn't know about pla+ untill you asked xD. I've tried just regular pla and flexible filament (ninjaflex), which is the one that works fine in the video. Normal pla doesn't work at all (copper and pla are like watter and oil), so if pla+ is anything similar to pla it won't work. Have you tried pla+? Does it get stuck better to different surfaces?
But does it work though
It does. Only with flexible filament (that I know). PLA won't stick to cold copper. I think this circuit was a guitar pedal or something like that, but if you plan to make something with smaller traces try with a 0.2mm nozzle and be patient the first time, you will have to find the right speed (print and travelling) and other parameters, specially to avoid blobs and strings.
@@frechetypen4524 lol can you print me one 😅
Were you able to reach 2.54 resolution?
Yes, but I had troubles with a regular 0.4 nozzle. If you want smaller details I recommend 0.2. I didn't have one when I recorded and it was a game changer. Some hints if you want to try: if you use cura you can adjust the z axis starting point (offset I think) so you don't need to level your build plate every time you want to print on a PCB. Lower your speed while extruding but keep it fast while travelling (to minimize strings and blobs). No retraction. I plan to record a new video but I barely have time. Good luck!
@@frechetypen4524 thanks for the hints. I dont have 0.2 nozzles in stock, but will order and try it. Can you advice on which types of plastic you tried? Ive read you didn't had results with PLA but i didn't not understand which are worth to try
@@za_ozero Flexible filament. In the video I use ninjaflex (85a I think). If you don't print with a direct extruder it might be difficult (for example if you use a standard Ender 3 I'm not sure if flexible filament will work). I want to order samples of different filaments, specially more rigid flexible filaments (if that makes sense...). That might help people that don't want to upgrade to direct extrussion.
@@frechetypen4524 i have Flying Bear Ghost 5 printer and planning to build a direct extruder on it in a month or so once all the components arrive from different places. Thanks for your advices once more and Happy New Year! :)
I just draw mine. Takes way less time and effort.
wtf lol
I hate your background music: it reminds me of the Skype incoming call melody-on repeat.
is under develop by leaking inside the traces.,. is super bad.. your trace will burn somethign after you put in a curent beter hotgue a FIX on your extruder and +Z like 1cm .. ( frik your inch's)