To make a printed circuit board first look up "Comparison of EDA software"
on Wikipedia. I use the freeware version of Eagle.
Eagle allows schematic capture and board layout.
Print the board layout at a 1:1 scale using a Laser printer on
HP Laser Photo Paper 220G.
Clean the PC board (both sides) using a ScotchGuard green pad.
Copper should be bright.
Rinse the board in water and dry.
Put denatured alcohol on a wadded paper towel and rub both sides of the board.
Black stuff comes off on the towel.
Use a fresh towel with alcohol and repeat until no gunk comes off on the towel.
Handle the board by edges to keep fingerprints off of the board.
An electric iron on high with lots of pressure can be used to transfer the PC pattern to the board.
A much superior method is to run the board and paper through a GBL H220 Laminator.
Google the laminator about $100. I run it through on the 6 mil setting 3 times in each direction.
The board gets warm and I handle it by the edges.
Don't peel the paper off of the board. Dunk paper and board in a bowl of water and let it soak
for a few minutes. Use your fingers to rub the paper which rolls up in small pieces. I use a cheap
toothbrush to get the areas between pins. A thin layer of paper adheres to the toner.
For etching the Ferric Choride works good. Bubbing air using an aquarium pump helps.
The copper reacting with the etchant absorbs heat and slows the reaction. The air bubbles
move fresh etchant into contaact.
Do a Google search for the MSDS on Ferric Chloride to see what precautions you need to take.
Rubber gloves and Goggles are recomended as is good ventilation.
The ScotchGuard pad with lots of pressure will remove the toner from the etched board.
A Dremmil tool is a good way to drill the holes. High RPMs for small bits.
Other etchants I haven't tried are Ammonium Persulfate, orHydrocholic acid combines with drugstore Hydrogen Peroxide.
Disposal of spent Ferric Chloride.
Don't pour it down the drain.
Washing soda (Sodium Carbonate) should be used to adjust the pH to about 7. A mud of
copper compounds will precipitate. Separate and dilute the liquid as it goes down the drain.
The mud can be dried and turned in as Hazardous Waste. The copper compounds make good root killer like
the kind you buy at the hardware store for a septic system.
A chemist can take the mud and react it to make copper sulfate and then plate the copper using electroysis.