So, these big companies can make these fancy coloured PCBs (black, blue, red, white, etc...), so is there a way for us little people to make them?
Sure there is. What you want is to specify soldermask color. You just order a one of those colors with what most board houses refer to as a production order. They usually allow you to place small quatity orders, but you lose out on the the savings of a large order because you pay the same setup fees regardless. Most board houses also charge an additional nominal fee for soldermask colors other than green. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $300 to $500 US for most orders. Hope this helps, Stu
You can paint your the PCBs before soldering the components on if you are utilizing through the hole. Just don't paint the side where you will apply the solder to.
sorry if this is seen as spam but: I have very good experience with this Ebay shop : link Plus he has a dutch bank account, so no international transfer fee for me The black pcbs are beautyful, especially when the pvb stays visible.
I want to make the actual PCB myself, I was just wondering if I could get different colours myself, but thanks anyway, good link! Now I know that it's solder mask that I'm looking for.
Okay. Here is a thread I found on DIY solder mask. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=58229&perpage=10&pagenumber=1 Hope this helps, Stu
easiest way is to first etch (ofcourse!) and drill the pcb. Then get some circular stickers in the right size. Put stckers on all the soldering pads, and paint the whole thing. When paint is dry just peel of the stickers. For a nice effect on the chopper side, use transparent paint (window-tint?)
Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. I wouldn't need to worry about the copper lines, would I? It'd still be able to conduct underneath the paint, yes?
Lol, I know that but..yeah, okay. I should get nice indents from the copper underneath the paint anyway, right?
There's methane in the atmosphere already... And I'm sure farting isn't going to bring on global warming any quicker.
I concur with these. So often I seem people puzzled at how to paint, lacquer, etc., their boards without ruining the pads. The answer is just that simple.
There is one problem with this, though. If the pads and traces are pretty big, you might find the paint melting in the area close to the pad during soldering. Normally it shouldnæt be a big problem, though. and yes, the chopper will still conduct. In fact, the paint will protect the chopper from oxidizing.
A better reason is that the "paint" used for covering the tracks is a solder-resist, so in wave soldering only the unpainted pads (and components mounted on them) get a solder coating. Saves solder and the risk of solder-bridging of close tracks. 'Conformal coatings' for corrosion and weather protection are usually transparent and sprayed over everything, including the components.
I don't think you'll find it as transparent (transparent color) paint, though. Just remember jo put it in the oven first. Often these paints doesn't cure before they are exposed to heat..