The Effect of Temperature, Agitation, and Molarity on the Etch Time of Printed Circuit Boards
For our research project, we measured the amount of time it took to completely etch a 25cm² copper clad, epoxy board, into a printed circuit board while changing the temperature, agitation, and molarity of the ferric chloride solution. The copper clad boards were prepared with a circuit design and Sharpie marker, and then hung into ferric chloride solution in a Tupperware juice container. Fish-tank airation stones were placed on the bottom of the container to provide agitation. We varied the molarity, agitation, and temperature of the solution and found that higher temperature, agitation, and molarity of ferric chloride help a printed circuit board etch faster. In addition, we concluded that temperature had the largest effect on the etch time of the circuit board.
Research Done By:
Steve Dworzecki
Lake Shore
David Fagan
Warren Mott
Warren Consolidated Schools