If you want to etch a neat, professional-looking circuit board for your electronics project, you can make one without any expensive or hard-to-find equipment. The toner from a laser printer is resistant to the chemicals used to etch copper, and it can be transferred from paper to copper with a common clothes iron.
Instructions
1 Draw the circuit pattern on a computer. The software and file format do not matter, as long as you will be able to print the image at its actual size. The circuit traces should be drawn in black on a white background, and oriented as a mirror image of what they should look like on the circuit board.
2 Load your printer with suitable paper. Glossy inkjet photo paper generally works well. You could also use paper cut from a magazine or catalog.
3 Set the darkness in your print settings to maximum. Disable any toner setting feature that may be active, as well as any scaling or resizing in the page setup. Print out the circuit image you drew.
4 Cut away with scissors some of the excess paper so that the circuit pattern is at the corner of the remaining paper. Tape the paper down to a hard work surface with the circuit pattern facing down. Place the circuit board under the paper so that it is properly lined up with the circuit traces against the copper.
5 Turn on your iron and set its heat to maximum, with steam off. Press it down as hard as you can against the paper and circuit board. Hold it down for one or two minutes, moving the iron to evenly heat the surface of the board.
6 Soak the circuit board in soapy water for several minutes until the paper softens. Gently rub the paper away, being careful not to disturb the circuit pattern (which will now be attached to the board). For thick paper, you may need to peel off a layer of paper and put the board back in the water to soak the remaining paper.
7 Fill a plastic pan with etching solution. Place the circuit board in the solution and leave it until the uncovered copper is completely dissolved. Remove the board and wipe it off.
8 Clean the board with acetone. Do not scrub it harshly, or you may damage the copper traces.
9 Drill the holes for the component leads using a carbide bit. Avoid high-speed steel bits, which will wear out too quickly.
