Fundamentals of Electronic

Circuits
(ACC 2)
Laboratory Manual
(PCB Fabrication)
Performance Task 1
LED and Resistor

Materials

1. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) – 1.5 x 2”

2. Resistor – 220 Ω
3. LED
4. 9V Battery
5. Wires (for power supply)
6. Ferric chloride
7. Soldering iron and lead
8. Drill
9. Masking Tape

Procedures
1. According to this schematic circuit diagram, create a pattern on
the PCB using the masking tape.
2. Using the ferric chloride, etch the PCB to reveal the created
circuit pattern.

3. Then, drill the holes necessary for the connection of the

components.
4. Solder the required semiconductors to complete the task.
Observations

During the etching process, I notice that ferric chloride (FeCl3)

has the ability to remove the unwanted copper in the PCB revealing
only the circuit pattern we created using masking tape or marker. This
is made possible because FeCl3 is a corrosive and acidic chemical
compound that can remove all copper in the PCB if not protected by a
tape or marker’s ink which ferric chloride cannot eliminate.

In addition, when stacking a pair of PCBs with both facing its

copper side, PCB tends to develop discoloration that makes the copper
looks darker. I think this is due to oxidation where there is a small
amount of moisture reacting with the boards.

Overall, the activity is still successful since we are able to light

up the LED by soldering the components on the etched PCB.

Conclusions

Based on the results of the activity, the following conclusions

were made:

1. Ferric chloride (FeCl3) is an effective chemical compound

when it comes to PCB etching because of its corrosive and
acidic properties.
2. Stacking PCBs that are facing each other’s copper side may
cause oxidation resulting in a darker color of the copper.
3. The semiconductors such as the resistor and LED were
successfully soldered on the PCB and fully functional with
the use of a 9V battery.
Documentation

Performance Task 2
Running Lights

Materials
 1. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) – 2 x 4”
2. Transistors – 2pcs. 2N2222A
3. Capacitors – 2pcs. 100 µF
4. Resistors – 2 pcs. 1K Ω
5. LEDs – 6pcs.
6. 9V Battery
7. Marker
8. Wires (for power supply)
9. Ferric chloride
10. Acetone
11. Soldering iron and lead
12. Drill

Procedures

1. Based on this schematic circuit diagram, create a pattern on the

PCB using the marker’s ink.
2. Using the ferric chloride, etch the PCB to reveal the created
circuit pattern.

3. Then, drill the holes necessary for the connection of the

components.
 4. Solder the required semiconductors to complete the activity.

Observations

In the last running lights activity, following the schematic circuit

diagram is much easier because of the use of jumper wires in the
breadboard. However, it is not the same case when it comes to
creating the version of the schematic diagram for the PCB since we
need to consider external factors, such as the intersection of
connections, components alignment, and especially the connection of
components because if one of those fails, the result may be none of
the LEDs will light up.

Drilling the holes on the PCB was also a struggle for me since the
drill bit tends to slip into metal surfaces like copper. To avoid that, I
recommend the use of an impact tool to punch a shallow hole in the
PCB or a cutter to create a small dent so that the drill bit will not slip
in other areas. Moving on, since my PCB diagram is stretched out, I
have little to no problem (except for some burned parts due to the
excessive heat of the soldering iron) when it comes to soldering the
components on the PCB.

Conclusions

Based on the observations, the following conclusions are

generated:
1. Creating the PCB diagram version of the schematic circuit
diagram requires a lot of work and knowledge since we need
to take account of different factors like the intersection of
connections, components alignment, and their connections
with each other.
2. The use of an impact tool to create a shallow hole on the
PCB before drilling may help to avoid the tendency of the drill
bit to slip on the other areas of the PCB that are not meant to
be drilled.
3. Stretched PCB diagram can make the soldering process
easier, but the need to maintain the temperature of the
soldering iron should also be monitored since it can burn the
board and the components being soldered.
4. The semiconductors were successfully soldered on the PCB
using the diagram above, and the running lights were
achieved, with the use of the 9V battery.

Documentation
Performance Task 3
IC Chaser Lights

Materials

1. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) – 5” x 4”

2. IC 555 and IC 4017
3. Resistors – 1 pc. 10K Ω and 10 pcs. 220 Ω
4. Variable Resistor – 1 pc. 10K Ω
 5. LEDs – 10 pcs. Blue
6. 9V Battery
7. Marker
8. Wires (for power supply)
9. Jumper Wire – 5 pcs.
10. Capacitors – 1 pc. 10 µF (Polarized) and 1 pc. 0.01 µF
(Ceramic)
11. Ferric Chloride
12. Acetone
13. Soldering iron and lead
14. Drill

Procedures

1. Based on this schematic circuit diagram, create a pattern on the

PCB using the marker’s ink.
2. Using the ferric chloride, etch the PCB to reveal the created
circuit pattern.

3. Then, drill the holes necessary for the connection of the

components.

4. Solder the required semiconductors to complete the task.

Observations

During the process of tracing the given schematic diagram of the

circuit, I learned that integrated circuits, or IC have a designated
numbering of pins with each function. This is the reason why following
the diagram strictly is recommended because any error in the process
of pinning will result in the circuit not working properly as intended. To
avoid that in the PCB fabrication, I used five jumper wires to ensure
that the components are connected to the correct pin.

In addition, the variable resistor determines the transitioning

speed of each LED. It has an inversely proportional relationship with
the transitioning speed of the LEDs where higher resistance causes
the LEDs to run slow, and lower resistance results in the LEDs running
fast. However, when we replace the variable resistor with an ordinary
one, the transitioning speed of the LEDs does not change and remains
constant.

Conclusions

After accomplishing the activity, the following conclusions were

made:
1. Creating the circuit pattern for the PCB version requires time
and knowledge since we need to consider the numbering of
pins of IC 555 and 4017.
2. The order of the LEDs can be manipulated to form shapes or
images, such as square, circle, and heart but we need to
make sure that they are connected in the proper pins and
output number is observed.
3. The value of the variable resistor is inversely proportional to
the transitioning speed of each LED in the circuit.
4. The required components were successfully soldered on the
PCB using the diagram above, and the IC chaser lights were
achieved with the use of the 9V battery.

Documentation