If this works. Wow!

Posted at 2:07 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by Nightstar

I’ll be sure to try this for my next board. Up till now I’ve just been running the edge of the iron along the board every few passes.

Posted at 2:15 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by jeff-o

Very nice method! The toner transfer part of the process is too prone to variance for me, so I recently got a laminator after seeing the great results from DorkbotPDX:
http://dorkbotpdx.org/blog/laen/adventures_in_etching_the_test_pattern
My first single-sided test came out great, now to try for a 2-sided board…:)

Posted at 2:46 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by salsa

I’m just wondering what the point is with toner-transfer… I certainly never had any success with it. As soon as I went past the point of “tracks between 0.1in pitch DIL pins” I started having trouble.

I switched to photo-etch earlier this year (using a Mega Electronics 8-bulb double-sided exposure unit with a vacuum system built in) and I’ve gone from having a ~40% success rate on fine-pitch SMD to nearly a 100% success rate. I think it’s actually working out quicker (for me) to go from CAD to a photo-etch PCB, and it’s certainly less effort to do double-sided boards (a photographic lightbox is a BIG help here, as is a roll of B&Q foam tape to hold the transparencies in alignment).

FWIW, I’m using the Jetstar acetate, a Canon iP4600 printer, Mega’s own “Microtrak” laminate (but the CIF stuff also works OK) and the Seno roll-on developer (because it’s easier than setting up the developer tank for a 30 second dunk).

Put simply, it works for me…

(If you’re going to do this, it’s also worth getting a step gauge and setting the exposure properly…)

Posted at 4:07 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by Phil Pemberton

Here’s one uses a old laser printer. http://storm.ca/~rheslip/pcbfuser.htm

I’ve heard the Staples Picture Paper works great from many people. Haven’t been to staples in a while.

Wonder if I could fab a board printer from an old paint jet.

Posted at 6:51 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by ellisgl

nice trick. thanks.

Posted at 9:16 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by Stunmonkey

phil: I think you’ve proven your point by listing all the items required. Most people would only have to buy blank PCBs and etchant (very cheap) for a simple toner setup.

Each method has its strengths and weaknesses.

- Toner: cheap and easy setup, low per-board cost, can be time consuming and frustrating especially on small clearances (good equipment helps a lot).
- Photo-etch: better resolution without much practice, but setup cost and per-board cost are higher.
- Inkjet: fastest processing time by far (hit print, bake for 5mins, etch), quite high res., per-board cost is low if you buy ink in bulk. Initial setup however can be tricky (pcb alignment, timing issues, etc.)
- CNC: highest setup cost, very low per-board cost (depends how long your bits last), slow for complex/large boards, but can give you the most complete product (edges routed and holes drilled). Average resolution.

(these are generalizations from my experience with a low hobby budget)

Posted at 9:16 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by jproach

The laminator machines that Pulsar sells work pretty good too. ;o

Posted at 9:58 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by bakamoichigei

the laminator is definitely a plus, as long as you’re very careful with moisture and feeding. the board sequence they show on their main kit page http://www.pulsarprofx.com/PCBfx/main_site/pages/start_here/index.html is mine, done after perfecting the process. that board is now on its 3rd production run, with a fairly significant redesign having been done ‘blind’ to correct design faults in the first version.

Posted at 10:11 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by omegacs

I should clarify that the production runs were done by batchpcb and advanced circuits and assembled by screaming circuits. the toner process is very definitely not cut out for quantity, primarily due to the lack of PTH for vias…

Posted at 10:15 pm on Aug 12th, 2009 by omegacs

Use the blue toner transfer sheets and you never have problems.

I gave up on this years ago anyways, I never need to make a PCB at 3am. I just export my Eagle file to expressPCB and get a perfect double sided board with solder mask in about a week or two for the same price as me screwing around for an hour to make a board, then etch, then drill, then do the nickle plating.

Posted at 6:26 am on Aug 13th, 2009 by farthead

@jproach:
my point is that for decent TT you need (give or take a few things):
- a laminator, or a laser printer fuser with homebrew temperature controller
- PCB blanks
- suitable paper (and it’ll probably take a while for you to find something that works for you)

so that’s what, $100 in startup costs, plus the tweaking until you get the process right.

or you spend that $100 on a cheap exposure unit (MG Chemicals do one for $55 or you can homebrew one out of MDF and a fluorescent light fitting and photoresist exposure fluoro’ lamp for about the same), a bottle of developer ($10 if that), and some PCBs (eurocard size precoated should be about $10 each, less if you’re buying in quantity). oh, and the acetates — office supply store, $20.

as far as i can see, cost-wise, they more or less match up.

it cost me £400 to start doing photo-etch, then £160 for my sheet-metal shear (it’s better than using a dremel to cut PCBs, far less dust), but admittedly I went a bit mad.

i don’t want to start a flamewar here, i’m just pointing out the facts as i see them. also, the prices are in USD as that’s what it seems most people around here are used to…

Posted at 2:07 pm on Aug 13th, 2009 by Phil Pemberton

@farthead: oh, press-n-peel? yeah, that stuff’s great. first thing i used when i was doing TT, absolutely no problems… except by the time i ran out, the UK importer had apparently gone bust. i seem to recall it’s made by Techniks and last time i checked, they were still in business.

Posted at 2:08 pm on Aug 13th, 2009 by Phil Pemberton

@phil: I agree, but the allure is the fact that you can have a basic working setup, with maybe $20 invested. It’s great if you have more time than money. But I don’t think I will ever bother with it again, maybe if I need a silkscreen on something..

Paper wise, staples photo seems to be the praised the most (although some people have used magazine paper, etc.), its $15 for 100 sheets.

Posted at 4:25 pm on Aug 13th, 2009 by jproach

Check this $24 hack that does a better job http://frikkieg.blogspot.com

Posted at 9:35 pm on Aug 16th, 2009 by Rick

This guy hacked a US GBC laminator and are using the toner transfer method to get excellent results.
http://frikkieg.blogspot.com

Posted at 10:53 pm on Aug 17th, 2009 by Rick

Хоть бы кто нибудь что то умное написал, все однотипно как то.

Posted at 12:03 pm on Oct 13th, 2009 by Petrik