Etching Tank picts!

So liquid proofing didn't go as easily as I had planned, but after a tube of silicone, I finally have a working etching tank!

These are pictures of the water test.

Even without any fixture for the board, it gets bubbled on both sides rather well, however, I need a fixture to keep it in place, and to make it easy to retrieve it. There's only 1" of space to reach down in!

Next up is a test with colored water. I want to be sure there are no leaks before I actually start really etching.

PCB Etching Tank Design

I started making my own PCBs (more on that later) with a rather crappy "etching tank" from MG Chemicals. It came with a crack on it which I JB welded. The JB weld failed (as it always does), and I ended up with a ferric chloride leak ;/. This, along with the suboptimal shape and lack of heater, got me to finally make my own.

The design is rather simple. It's made out of .08" acrylic sheet. It has a (unregulated) heater and air port. I designed it all in Autodesk Inventor (FRC FTW :)).

Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures and post them when this is done. I'm currently about 1/2 done building it.

 

The entire assembly. The heater and connectors are missing.

All the .08' acrylic sheet parts. The air sparger has a bunch of .03" holes in it to make the bubbles.

The main sides of the tank.