UV LED Light Box - Thanks Elector

[rudiel]

I recently constructed a UV LED Light box for PCB exposure. It works quite well. Thanks Elektor !!!

Based on Article found in Elektor Electronics Website. UV LED Light Box – May 2006

Description:
I used a wooden box with a flip-top lid. The box was an old self-made Subwoofer enclosure. It uses old 240W PC PSU for 12V Supply.

1 Board = 24 UV LEDS (6x4 Matrix) –
on Eurocard (100mm/160mm size)

I ordered
- 50 x5mm UV Ultra Violet Leds - New WA Super Chips (Ultraleds.co.uk) ~400nm Wavelength
- 50 x 180R ¼W resistors (Ultraleds.co.uk)

2 Indentical Boards fitted side by side to cover area of 200 x 160mm.

Glass platen +-50 mm away from PCB under exposure. – 6 minutes to expose Maplin Precoated board. FR4

In future want to make two similar boards to make Double-sided PCB’s

PCB Developed using Caustic Soda (from HW Store)
PCB etched using Ferric Chloride.
Works well. I would recommend for any homebrew PCBs

Please contact me for some photos if interested

[Elektor Editor]

hi Rudie,

congratulations on a successful project. Please send the photos to editor@elektor.com and I will see if they can be published.

regards,
Jan Buiting

[droky]

Hi Elektor,
I made a portable UV LED Light Box 100x160 mm and works fine.
I used a metal box case to make it.
I posted make process on my blog at:
http://radikaldesig.blogspot.com/2006/10/insoladora-uv-leds.html

Thanks for that good idea!!!

Droky

[pusser]

It has been nice to know the light box has been succesfull. I am looking forward to making one for myself but I 'm finding it difficult to obtain the PCB and can't make one until I have the box!

Does anyone know of a supplier of the UV light box PCBs?



Peter

[Elektor Editor]

Does anyone know of a supplier of the UV light box PCBs?

www.thepcbshop.com

regards
Jan

[hobbylad]

Rudiel,

Great stuff but i'm a bit confused.

When you say "Glass platen +-50 mm away from PCB under exposure" do you mean 50mm between the LEDs and the PCB being exposed on a glass plate? If so, why is this distance so low? Do the New WA Super Chips have a beam angle greater than 20 degrees? I found no beam angle info at Ultraleds.co.uk.

I would expect an irregular exposure at 50mm with beam angles of 20 degrees but you're saying it's working fine with Maplin FR4 (6 minutes)...

I'm looking forward to building your project but i'm a bit confused.

Thanks
Hobbylad

[Guest]

I have build UV LED lightbox using old flatbed scanner and 40 Kingbright L-7113UVC LEDs. These LEDs have narrow ray (+-10 degrees), it helps to get sharp shadow on photoresist even if photomask is not cling to the PCB very tight. LEDs mounted on carriage moved by stepper motor (scanner's mechanics reused), so 40 LEDs are enough to expose up to A4/Letter PCBs. LEDs mounted close to each other, so it provide well distributed light even with small deepness of box. Exposure adjusted by changing linear speed of the carriage.

http://forum.ixbt.com/post.cgi?id=attach:48:2184:1220:1
http://forum.ixbt.com/post.cgi?id=attach:48:2184:1238:1
http://forum.ixbt.com/post.cgi?id=attach:48:2184:1238:3
http://forum.ixbt.com/post.cgi?id=attach:48:2184:1240:1

[preda]

Hi
I made a portable UV LED Light Box and works thank you for projects in magazine
preda

[leadergr]

congratulations on a successful project

[rmsn]

Hello I’m form Portugal,

i built this project “ I followed everything” but something is not working well. After the expose 10m, 15m, 30m, 1h m, I put the board in Soda Caustic and I see the circuit but then all goes off, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m sure that I’m using the Wright amount of soda caustic
I’m using precoated boards (i don’t know the wave length). I’m about to get Positiv 20 but is too expensive. I use a desk jet and HP premium transparency film
My Glass platen is +-20 mm away from PCB under exposure!!! is it to close?
The leds wave length are 390nm . ~
Can any one help-me?