For Doers who are venturing into electronic projects, the first printed circuit board is practically a rite of passage. The earliest, simplest designs can be improvised with wires, alligator claws, protoboards, and terminal bridges. The important thing is to do and any gambiarra is allowed! At some point, however, we will inevitably try a more elaborate project, a permanent installation, or a project that needs to be more compact. For Doers in this situation, here are some tips on how to make your first PCB at home today. For the printed circuits assembly this is important now.

How it works

Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, are made from a non-conductive base such as phenolate or fiberglass and covered by a copper layer, which is an excellent conductor. During plate preparation, all copper except the one that will make the component connections is removed. That is, it is a subtractive process.

In a nutshell, the thing goes something like this: the plate design is drawn on the copper layer using a …