veroboard pen: minor cuts and failure :'(

[autir]

In need of a tool to cut the tracks of my veroboards, I have bought this pen. It accepts noses composed of many glass fibers and works as a brush. I have been unable to break a single track, with much brushing I have managed to break two or three adjacent tracks. And by that time everything in a 5 dot radius was badly scratched. Not to mention the loose fibers piercing my fingertips, adding to my frustration.

1) What is the "proper/formal" name of this devilish device? So that I may perform searches in Google.

2) Any suggestions on how to use it? Any clues? Links to tutorials?

3) Does anybody have another tool to suggest?

Thank you very much.

 

[audioguru2]

Hi Autir,
I have used a lot of Veroboard for many years and have never seen the "brushing tool" you have. I purchased from Vero a handtool which was a drill bit in a wooden or plastic handle, called a "spot face-cutter". Most of the time I use my drillpress to cut the copper tracks. If the drill bit is dull (it gets dull quickly when cutting epoxy-fiberglass Veroboard) or you drill too deep then it leaves small pieces of copper sticking up around the cuts and bridging the tracks.

I don't think Veroboard exists anymore. For a few years I have been using good Chinese copies. Cheap copies are phenolic which is paper mush with glue. It warps with time and its copper is thin and doesn't stick very well. I always use epoxy-fiberglass Veroboard or the copy of it called "stripboard". ;D

 

[autir]

By the name "veroboard" I was referring to the type of the board, not a specific brand. What is the difference, if any, between a veroboard and a stripboard?

 

[audioguru2]

Veroboard is a name-brand and its good quality is well known. Stripboard copies could be bad like the one made in Taiwan that smells like it is made of dung.
RadioShack had a type of stripboard made of cheap phenolic and with very thin copper. Its holes were too big for most parts leaving the remaining copper around them very narrow. ;D

 

[Alun]

I personally really hate vero board, it's so easy fo me to etch boards that I even make PCBs for experimental circuit's that I'll probably never use for anything. I use the transfer method for cheap prototypes and the UV method for good quality projects. I often make a small stripboard sections in the PCB so I can experiment and add things if needed. Plain copper clad board is dirt cheap and the etching compound itsn't that expensive.

The only time I ever use veroboard is for small circuits and in some cases I just solder it all togeather with flying leads. Of course this is just me, I can understand why people don't bother with PCBs and just use them for final designs if anything.

 

[Codyhtml]

http://www.futurlec.com/

 

[Cerium]

That brush he is talking about reminds me of the fiber glass pen brushes used to spot remove the protective covering that comes on commercial boards. They can be usefull when working on somthing with small connections that has been sealed after construction. (Like a motherboard...)

 

[MP1]

I personally really hate vero board, it's so easy fo me to etch boards that I even make PCBs for experimental circuit's that I'll probably never use for anything.

Yes!!

MP

 

[Dazza]

Hi,

My very first electronic project used vero board, a keyboard splitter.  For all my projects ever since except for one, I etched boards for. I don't know if anyone else makes their PCB's like I do, but this is how I go about it. I print the PCB pattern, then tape it to the copper side of the blank PCB then lightly centre punch where the holes are to be drilled, remove the PCB pattern and drill the holes, then draw the tracks with a permanent market using the holes as a guide, I've made some fairly compact boards this way, but you need plenty of patients and a steady hand.

I would rather spend a couple of hours making a PCB this way, then use vero board ;D.

If all goes well, I should only need to make a few more PCB using this method, then I can use my mill to make my PCB's ;D.  I don't think there would be any think easier then using a mill to make PCB's 8).

 

[autir]

I know there are some Greeks among the members of this forum.
Can anyone please tell me where I can find a Strip Board Cutter

or something similar in Athens?

Thank you.

 

[audioguru2]

Glue a drill bit into a piece of wood or plastic.