Very exciting news, Petunia has arrived! In the first post, I talked all about what prompted me to create Petunia, and some of the methods involved in creating the circuit board. Now the circuit boards have arrived, I have practiced the hot-plate soldering technique and have working prototypes to develop code on.  Petunia Prototype
I was messing with the fellows at the Sparkfun tent at Maker Faire and I hear Laura calling me over. I know it's something good if she's dragging me away from Sparkfun. So I walk over and see some etched copper circuit boards.  Circuit Etched In Copper
A few images I snapped with my weak cell phone camera. I'll be posting a bigger collection with a lot more and better quality photos within a couple of days.  Glowing biker
Just playing around a bit with a CCFL tube I stole off a "hip" computer fan and I managed to capture these great pictures. These photos were taken with a cell phone camera. I'll have to get Laura to take some higher quality shots, this is fun!  Chotchky Glass Egg
Well technically this project isn't really my first PCB. That was made back in high school, a 555 circuit that made an incandescent bulb flash. Excitement! When I first sat down last year thinking about making PCBs again, my first thought brought me right back to that etching process. I'd heard of a technique called "toner transfer" that can be used to create boards at home. However, I have 2 cats and a wife in an apartment to think about here. I don't want to leave lots of toxic stuff laying around the house for the cats to eat and for everyone to breathe. So, I decided to use an online printed circuit board fabrication house where I can submit my design and get back a nice board without messing with toxic chemicals. |
Software |