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  • Author Author: djfraz
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Homemade Arduino Programmer

djfraz

I've been looking into designing my own Arduino programming and development board after seeing Ben Heck's episode. Apologies if this is in the wrong area.

 

So I made a quick Schematic in Eagle using the arduino schematic from the website, I've included support for the ATTiny85. I know this isn't the first time someone has done something like this, or with home pcb manufacture, just wanted to share some of the problems I've had with this design.

 

So here is the final result, I don't have any form during as I wasn't expecting it to work out. I haven't tested this board as there are a number of shorts, and I don't have a reset from the FTDI header.

image

image

 

I Tried to keep the layout simple as my original plan was to build this on proto-board, but I only had multi core wire and trying to wire that up was a nightmare in itself. So I took the plunge and etched my own board.

I have read of three (at least most mentioned) way of etching a PCB using a laser printer 1) Photo Paper 2) Magazine Newspaper 3) Print n' Peel. So i tried all of them, one of the reasons why i think that the copper on my board appears slightly pitted, removing the toner with fine grit sandpaper. By far the worst method, Print n' Peel, with kept jamming in my printer. Photo Paper worked well, but not all of the traces transferred. Possibly my traces and fills are too close for home manufacture, I plan to have a DRC for eagle best suited for home manufacture. The method I finally used was the Magazine paper, this gave me the best results.

 

I used Ferric Chloride, the only enchant I can easily find in the UK without online ordering. This worked a lot quicker than I thought it would.

 

Thing I want to change for next time;

  • Better Design board, mainly clearances with the copper fill ground. This made it almost impossible with my equipment to solder without shorting to ground.
  • Maybe using Photoresist, I've heard a lot of good reviews of this method
  • Solder Mask - I think this is a must, I am no expert at soldering, and it will help to make my boards look more professional.
  • Drill Press - I too late found out that I don't own a dremel chuck small enough to fit my drill bits, so all of the hole on this board where done using a old school archimedean drill (not fun image)
  • Two sided board.

 

I would encourage anyone who has been tempted to design their own boards, just do it. It can be stressful but worth it.

 

Ultimately I want to have a process with I well works best and have a small movable workbench to make custom PCB's and solder station. As my flat is fairly small and i don't have room for a full workbench. If manage to do this I will keep the community informed image

I will develop these more when i find time. I've also got a plan for this basic idea including a Raspberry pi, but too early to announce that.

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  • I also tried etching my own boards for another project, but gave up (Hydrochloric acid and Hydrogen Peroxide). The etchant works fine, just getting the damn toner onto the board failed.
    In the end, I gave up. I then decided to us a 2-layer board, and meticulously checked the Gerber files with an on-line Gerber viewer. Then, I sent the boards to seeedstudio (eee isn't a typo) on their fusion page. It was cheap enough - about €15, IIRC for 10. vias included. Worked fine, and quality of board was professional.
    Basically, the chemicals, PCB and toner ink for ONE board were more expensive. So, I don't bother with home-brew boards anymore. You've just gotta make absolutely sure you totally understand the datasheet of every IC you use, use LTspice for the analog mularkey.
    Doing it this way encouraged me to take the time to check, check, and check again, so it HAS to work first time. In my case my only mistake on my project (data logger based around an XMEGA, flash ROM, A/D converter, 2G modem, lots of analog) was to forget a 100nf SMD cap. on the SIM-card's VDD line...It worked with 2V8 SDIM cards, not with 1V8 ones.

  • in reply to andycrofts

    Ive been wanting to try etching my own boards since I first started designing electronics when I was about 13. As much as the failures i had with this method, it hasn't put me off, I want to find a way to perfect this with my equipment. I did think about ordering a couple of the boards from a manufacturer. yet since it was an experiment to see what it is like to make my own, if i was needing a number of boards i would send out for them.

    I am thinking of buying a small cheap cnc machine, and making an arduino driver for it specific for machining pcbs. although at the moment this is on the back burner due to university. along with the fact that i don't have much room in my flat to allow for a separate electronics workspace/ bench, so i am having to look at ways to find room for everything. Mainly because I've had enough of having to clear my desk of study paperwork to put in my electronics equipment, and vice versa. I will probably put up something when i have accomplished this

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  • in reply to andycrofts

    Ive been wanting to try etching my own boards since I first started designing electronics when I was about 13. As much as the failures i had with this method, it hasn't put me off, I want to find a way to perfect this with my equipment. I did think about ordering a couple of the boards from a manufacturer. yet since it was an experiment to see what it is like to make my own, if i was needing a number of boards i would send out for them.

    I am thinking of buying a small cheap cnc machine, and making an arduino driver for it specific for machining pcbs. although at the moment this is on the back burner due to university. along with the fact that i don't have much room in my flat to allow for a separate electronics workspace/ bench, so i am having to look at ways to find room for everything. Mainly because I've had enough of having to clear my desk of study paperwork to put in my electronics equipment, and vice versa. I will probably put up something when i have accomplished this

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