Making a PCB The Old-Fashioned Way
The article discusses the traditional method of making a printed circuit board (PCB) by hand. It highlights the process of plotting out the board, experimenting with materials, and using ferric chloride for etching. Ultimately, the result is a functional smoke absorber for soldering projects.
- ▪Modern PCBs are typically designed using EDA software, but some still use traditional methods.
- ▪The author experiments with resist markers and etching compounds to create a PCB by hand.
- ▪Ferric chloride is used as the standard copper etchant for PCBs.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Making A PCB The Old-Fashioned Way No comments by: Julian Scheffers May 21, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy Nearly all modern PCBs are designed with the help of EDA software, but not all of them. [ALTco] shows us the process of plotting out a board the old-fashioned way — by hand. Back in the day, drawing out the traces on a PCB lead to beautiful, smooth lines that [ALTco] wanted to imitate. But first, he needed to figure out how the rest of the fabrication process worked. He starts by just experimenting, both with the “resist” markers and paint, and the etching compound. Things rarely work first-try, and neither did his home-made etchant. So then it was time to buy some ferric chloride, the standard copper etchant for PBCs.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Hackaday.
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