PCB Laser Etcher

I’ve designed several PCB’s and ordered them from manufacturers like OSHPARK and JLCPCB, but I didn’t like having to wait a few weeks for my PCB’s to come in, and I didn’t want to pay extra for expedited shipping. Instead I bought a 3w laser and a few blank PCB’s on Amazon and came up with the following process for making pretty consistent homemade 1-layer or 2-layer PCBs. They’re not as pretty as the professional ones, but they pretty well for a quick and dirty solution.

My Process:

• Cover a blank PCB with a light coat of matte black spray paint

• Mount the 3w laser to my 3D printer with a 3D printed mount that I designed

• Use the 3w laser to burn off spray paint from sections of the PCB, exposing copper beneath

• Submerge the PCB in agitated ferric chloride to dissolve exposed copper

• Remove the rest of the spray paint with acetone to reveal finished PCB