Making PCBs

Making PCBs is probably the most challenging part of building MegaDrum. This is the step which will probably involve several trials and errors. Thankfully Internet is full of DIY resources and howto's about making PCBs. I myself used a 'Laser printer' method. The keys to success with this method are:

  • Plan ahead, don't rush.
  • A good quality laser printer. Not necessarily an expensive one. I used Samsung CLP-300
  • Steady hands and precision
  • Suitable photo paper. 'Suitable' for PCB making is not equal to expensive photo paper. Selecting the suitable photo paper is probably the part which will cause a few trials and errors. I used  cheapest photo paper from Tesco.

To make PCBs you really need to do some research on Internet. Here's a few links which I found usefull when making my PCBs.

http://max8888.orcon.net.nz/pcbs.htm
http://www.5bears.com/pcb.htm
http://www.qsl.net/vk5cu/
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woIr9xhzw7A
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urv6jArKp6M
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6WJqjVleG0

Download Digital and Analogue boards PCB PDF files from the forum. When printing these PDFs on a laser printer make sure you use highest DPI available and you do NOT have any scaling enabled.

Well, from here on you're almost on your own making your PCBs. Read/watch tutorials from the links above and good luck!