The best part is when I can go from having the design on
screen....printout....etch in about 10 mins...sitting in
my hands ready to solder
Steve
Impressive indeed..
The only possibly better method would be printing (or plotting) directly on PCB.
When I have some more free time I will certainly try..
Impressive indeed..
The only possibly better method would be printing (or plotting) directly on PCB.
When I have some more free time I will certainly try..
Printing on a PCB could be possible, I was thinking of CD or DVD printers which I had one about 6 months ago but needed a special plate to be inserted for thickness otherwise would rip off the printer head.
I think they only came in ink printer and not laser.
Hi Malcolm,
Yes, Scorpius (John) mentioned it earlier in this thread (with links to relevant webpages.. people were doing it for years, http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/c84-st.htm)
However, if not mechanically modified, printers on DVD/CD will also have size limitations..
Still, it is worth trying, for smaller boards. The outcome will also depend on ink used, some inks are better than others (those issues are also discussed on the above mentioned web pages..)
Here is the link to the PCB Inkjet Printing document that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's a 27MB document, so it may take a while to download.
It doesn't go into the etching process - that's pretty straight forward. I was more interested in the printing process. Following the printing, the laminate was baked at about 50-60C for about 15-20 minutes, then allowed to cool prior to inspection and etching.
Interesting article, thanks for that may get me in the mood for printing PCB.
I thought of a modifacation to the document as i have had a lot of problems removing ink cartridge PCB so it doesn't confuse the printer. Instead you can purchace refill cartridges which i buy from www.inkbank.com.au and fill only with one colour.
To improve resolution Inkbank also sell high res pigment inks as well.
On a related note, does anyone know where to get SS FR4 laminated boards that are thicker than the standard 1.6mm?
I've been trying to track down some 2.4mm or 3.2mm board for a project but can't find any retail sources.
Try local PCB manufacturers.. http://www.acetronics.com.au/ for example.
I know in Sidney there were couple of them in the past.
I am not sure if they will be happy to sell you a material only but it is always worth to ask..
Try local PCB manufacturers.. http://www.acetronics.com.au/ for example.
I know in Sidney there were couple of them in the past.
I am not sure if they will be happy to sell you a material only but it is always worth to ask..
Thanks bojan,
I've sent off a query to them, as you say, it doesn't hurt to ask.
I did try RCS Radio who've been in the business for ever but they're in the process of moving/selling up so could give me a definite yes or no.
At home I like to use the UV photo resist technique. I like to centre punch the PCB to aid in drill centring.
David, how do you produce negative phototool (film.. it is OK for Ritronics PCB's, possibly still available at DS).
BTW, you do not really need centrepunch if the plot (or print or film) has holes (which are doable from Protel laser printouts). they will be etched and are sufficient for guiding the drill.
The film you shown us is the usual by-product by PCB manufactures from Gerbers, but they are also using CNC drill machines..
David, how do you produce negative phototool (film.. it is OK for Ritronics PBS, possibly still available at DS).
BTW, you do not really need centrepunch if the plot (or print or film) has holes (which are doable from Protel laser printouts). they will be etched and are sufficient for guiding the drill.
Yes, these negatives are years old and I have a Protel CNC drill layer but for home I use a centre punch.
No choice here as I'm out of these paticular PCB's and most manufactures are on holiday's till the 15th of Jan.
I am re doing all my PCB's with Altium Designer 6.0.
PCB manufactures do not accept Protel these days.
Ive been making prototype PCB's for years and dont have any problem producing PCB's with .010 track widths and spacings using a trusty HP Laserjet, drafting film (herculene) and positive photo-resist PCBs.
Have done surface mount with this no problems. Of course the SMD are much easier to mount with a manufactured PCB with soldermask .. but Im talking prototypes.
Occasionally you get a dud, but that is almost always because the thickness of the photo-resist layer varies and I didnt allow enough exposure / developing time.
Also might add that I did away with ferric chloride and use the ammonium persulphate crystal now. It doesnt keep as long as ferric nor etch as fast but in the spill department its a whole lot better. Ultimately I intend to use cupric chloride .. I just have to get my degree in chemistry to make the mixture.
That's a very interesting article Steve. I too have gone through every form of media, including photo paper, (even aluminium foil!) with varying degrees of success. I'll have a go at the specific brand of photo paper you suggest.
But after much experimentation some years ago, I have since had excellent results with backing paper off sticky labels. Avery labels in my case.
I tape the print onto the PCB and after passing the board through a laminator (about 8 times), the toner sticks to the PCB and every speck of toner is transferred off the backing paper. Because the backing paper is non-stick, it literally falls away from the PCB without lifting any toner from the copper. It works very well.
I use photoresist pre-coated Kinsten boards. They are cheap and easy to use if you have access to a laser printer and a UV box. I also use Eagle software from cadsoft for designing my boards - its really quite easy to use. SMD boards take less time to do because you need to drill fewer holes. If you need more than 2 or 3 of the same board, futurlec.com.au are very cheap for getting boards done. They accept your eagle PCB file (as well as many other formats) and most sizes you are likely to make will end up in the $100-$150 bracket or even less. So its sometimes cheaper to get them to do it than to buy a drill, etching tank, chemicals, transparencies etc.
Ive been wondering about Eagle heard good things about it. Im struggling with NIs Ultiboard 10, not very user friendly (althought the Multisim simulator is pretty cool, not that I use it much). Have you compared Eagle with anything else?.
I have not done any serious PCB work for years but back in the early 70's I made lots of one off PCB's all hand drawn with a texture colour pen.
If we wanted duplicates we did them with silkscreens. Most of it was discrete components. However I designed and built an eight digit frequency counter with nixie tubes and TTL which was the latest technology. All laid out and drawn with a pen.
I have attached a couple of scans from my archives of some sections of a VSB colour TV transmitter I built using hand drawn boards. The technique was to lay the circuit out on graph paper then transfer the design to a PCB board by marking all the holes on the board with a scriber then drawing the board again on the copper side then etching in ferric chloride which we used to buy in bulk. Terrible stuff to handle.
hi, I read that there is a process to dispose used FeCL and should not be poured down drains. how should it be disposed?
can the inkjet papers recommended be used in most or all laser printers? any risk of fuser damage?
thanks
