Well, once as a freshman in college at Auburn University (War Eagle, that is just for our big game coming up against Alabama), I wanted to make an expandable memory circuit for my TI-89 graphing calculator. I actually learned to program in high school by playing with an old TI-82. Let me tell you, knowing how to make working programs saved my tail many times. I would actually make programs that would solve entire equations for me. I could type in what was given, and it would give me all the steps along the way, and would then give me the answer. I made many of high grades on calculus tests just through that. I even made my own version of p-spice on my calculator. you could put in all of the resistor values of a circuit, and it would do all the work for you and give you all the voltages. Anyway, sorry for my regression. I wanted more memory for my calculator, so I was going to make an external device that would connect to the link port.
So, I wanted it to be permanent and by that, I needed my own circuit board. I researched how to do it on the internet. Yes it was a dialup connection. It was 1998, so what do you expect? Anyway, I found the plans for one, and dowloaded the layout for the board. I bought my little pcb kit at radioshack and went to it. Now, I was lame, and decided that I could just use tracing paper, and get a general idea of the layout, and then use a permanent marker to draw them on. I etched the board and everything, and it actually did work. It was pretty pathetic though, and I never even finished anything else on it. So the point of the story is that my board was really bad, and I need a better way to make a board.
One of my rotations as a co-op for NASA, I worked on a robotic astronaut called Robo-naut. I was in charge of making a circuit board that was going to be a motor controller that went in the robot’s wrist. This board had several requirements. Due to restraints in the small size of the wrist of the robot, the board had to have a flexible component that actually wrapped around the wrist of the robot. It was a 6 layer board all together, and I designed it on Orcads layout software. That is an amazing program. It took me a long time to understand how to make it work, but I eventually got it, and here is the finished product. I was very happy with how it turned out.
So thinking back on all of this, I decided to se out on making my own circuit board for real. Actually the first process is to learn how to do it correctly. We can’t all own the program orcad layout. It is expensive. What you can get for free though is a program called Express PCB. Just google it, and you can find it. I don’t know how to use it yet, so can’t tell you. The link I am going to give you explains it a little.
The best way to make a home-brew DIY circuit board is to start with a board with copper plate on one side. Design your board the way you want it. (To start out with, it is best to learn to make a single layer. You can get more complicated later). You can get a iron transfer paper that you can print your traces on, and then iron them onto the board. After you iron it on, just etch the board in the correct solvent. (It is in the article what you use). Drill your board, and you are done. I do plan on making my own board for a few things. I just have to get out of this semester first. Microbiology is not my best subject. I don’t know why I am in medical school. It really stinks, but I do want to follow God and help people overseas one day. Thus, I am in med school, and no longer an engineer. (I say this in jest. I am happy in medical school, it is just the hardest thing I have ever done. It is giving me a chance to learn about the human body, and it gives me the tools I need to really help people, and make a difference. Also I can use my engineering reasoning in medicine to diagnose people).
Anyway, check out this link and learn to make a circuit board the correct way.[Link]
7 Responses to “DIY Circuit Board”
Leave a Reply
I’m curious, why can’t you follow God and help people overseas by being an engineer? Designing an inexpensive computer, or coming up with a way to deliver electricity to small villages that have none, or a way to create drinkable water for people that have no access to good water? Or even designing the machines that doctors use in the field?
Just wondering…
That is a good question, and the answer is that I definately can. Engineering provides many numerous ways to help people. I guess to anwer the question. My brother is a physician, and I went on a medical mission trip to kenya once, and saw how we were helping the people. We saved the vision of this one baby, and I just felt God calling me into medicine. I am happy in medical school. I will forever be an engineer, and plan on using it any way possible. The reason I created this website is so that I could do the fun things I liked from engineering. I also wanted to be around it so I would not lose my skills. I guess I just did not see engineering as a career was fulfilling my purpose, but the skills it has give me can still be used. Does that help explain any?
Hey you wouldn’t happen to still have those programs by any chance would you? It would be cool if you could post them up for soon to be calculus students
uhhmm… I may have some old programs on a TI-92. I will have to look, but it is at my parent’s house, and I won’t be there til after Christmas. Sadly, one day while at Auburn University, I was in a chemistry class, in the middle of a test. Actually I was a fifth year senior. (I had to go back and take fresman level classes when I decided to go to Medical School). Anyway, during the test, my calc froze. I took the batteries out, and the tiny memory battery was dead, so I lost all of my programs that I had worked so hard on. I was sickened. I will see what I have, and will be more than happy to post them. If there was something you really needed, I might be willing to program it for you, in return for something. We could work it out. Keep that in mind, but if I already have anything, you can have them for free.
i was wondering where i could get that copper plated board for the diy circuit board?
You can get the board at radioshack. They have a double sided board for sure. I once got an entire kit from them that had everything that I needed.
i want to make a string of lights and a board that tells me when one is disconnected. can u help a little