When the 10mil isolation paths offered by CNC Milling are insufficient, photolithography becomes the PCB fabrication method of choice.

The process is simple, consisting of: 1) Dry film photoresist, laminated onto copper clad board by laminator. 2) UV exposure. Can be done by UV laser strapped to CNC mill or high-resolution inkjet printed transparencies and various random light sources (eg. sunlight, CFLs, etc). 3) Development. Strong basic solution (sodium carbonate seems preferred) chemically removes exposed resist. 4) Etching. Acid solution removes exposed copper. 5) Striping. Sodium hydroxide completely removes photoresist residue. Possibly an optional step. 6) Solder mask. Optional. Repeat steps 1-3 and bake in oven at 220F for 10 minutes. Alternatively, laser cut a negative solder mask from blue tape, and apply high-temperature spraypaint. 7) Via/hole drilling, punching, etc. Can be done automatically on CNC mill.

For surface mount projects, solder paste stencils are the easiest assembly technique, and can be made from blue tape on HacDC's laser cutter.

HacDC has all the required materials except the dry film photoresist, sodium carbonate, and sodium hydroxide.

Reference

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