PCB Q

[zachtheterrible]

I use the toner transfer method to make my PCBs.

When i iron them onto the copper board, i am wondering if the paper should come off on top of the toner, or if only the toner should come off.

thanx :lol:

 

[jrz126]

the toner stays on the copper board, and the paper comes off.

The paper will usually stay where there is toner, and you want to remove the paper that doesnt have toner under it.

hope this makes sense, it's 7 am and I'm still kinda half asleep.

**broken link removed**

It will look like this when it is dry, toner and a thin layer of paper over the traces, and bare copper over everything that you want etched.

 

[zachtheterrible]

wow, thats a nice lookin board :lol: wish mine look like that :cry:

i have been trying to make a PCB that looks really nice like that, but the problem that ive been having is that the tracks seem to bleed, and kind of get globby :?

the paper that im using is not the staples picture paper. i went to staples and had them print out my PCB picture on their laser printer, and the girl that helped me told me that the staples picture paper can't be used with laser printers. this true??

EDIT: I just tried making a PCB with some staples photo paper with some PCBs that I already had on there and it came out wonderfully. I was trying out a different method of making PCBs, so I wasn't sure if it was the paper I was using or the method. All is well and happy now :lol:

Is what the girl told me in staples true though? does the staples paper only work with some laser printers, or was she totally wrong?

 

[jrz126]

I dunno about the quality from laser printer to laser printer. I know that the package for the paper says "for inkjet printers", but I havent had a problem with it. Although a few tracks on every board I made dont seem to want to transfer.

 

[DirtyLude]

Is what the girl told me in staples true though? does the staples paper only work with some laser printers, or was she totally wrong?

She was totally wrong. It certainly won't hurt any laser printer.

It really depends on the paper how much still sticks to the board. The Staples stuff, alot of paper sticks to the board and you have to rub it all off to expose the toner. It takes me a couple minutes with a toothbrush and my thumbs.

The old Kodak stuff I had, very little paper stuck to the board, but it would also pull up tracks fairly easily.

If you're getting squished tracks, it might be the way you're ironing, or just that the laser stuff from Staples isn't that good for this.

If you have no intention of getting a cheap laser of you're own, you might want to try the photo sensitive boards. That might work out for you better.

 

[zachtheterrible]

Well, I just went down to the local library and tried to use my staples photo paper. The machine jammed up, and my paper got all crinkled, and I walked out of the library with my tail between my legs.

I do plan on getting a laser printer of my own someday because I love the simplicity of the toner transfer method, and the results are good (if u can get the bloody paper through the printer).

Until then though, where should I print my stuff out, is there something that I should be looking for in a laser printer? I was able to print out on staples paper off a copier at Kinko's just fine, but the quality wasn't too great because I had to print the artwork out on a regular piece of paper and then copy that onto the photo paper.

EDIT: Oh yeah, where would I look for scotchbrite to clean the copper board?

 

[mstechca]

I found another method (which I use) for making PCB's.

Go to a dollar store and buy yourself some candles. Look for a dark colour. Black is preferred.

Now melt the wax with a soldering iron (sorry experts, but I use my soldering iron for almost everything LOL) and apply it to the circuit board. Stand up the circuit board as you apply the wax to it. All areas must be covered but don't overload it with the wax, or the next step won't work well.

Take a dental pick or a needle or something similar and scrape your design out of the wax. All of the scraped portions will be removed by the etchant, and the waiting time is a bit shorter.

You can see your design in bright light.

 

[DirtyLude]

You know, I've never fed more than one sheet of any of these photo-papers into a laser printer at one time. You just put one sheet in at a time into the sheet feeder and it jammed?

Usually the best place everyone has access to laser printers is at work. Maybe you can get someone you know to print it out for you. Just give them the paper and a file.

I got scotchbrite from my local outo parts store. Well, the last stuff I got wasn't the name brand scotchbrite, but still the same thing. Non-metalic sanding pad.

 

[jrz126]

I found another method (which I use) for making PCB's....

Sounds quite difficult to do. Especially if you have a complicated circuit...well even a 20 pin Dip seems like it would be too difficult to get to line up by hand.

 

[Russlk]

If the tracks are spreading, the temperature is too high. I heat my board in the oven to control the temperature better. I use an HP 1000 laser printer and set the temperature at 400 - 410 degrees F. Pre-pasted wallpaper works good in the laser printer, if you can get the curl out of it. A piece of cloth over the paper will help getting all tracks to adhere.

 

[jrz126]

I thought about using the oven, but do you have to apply any force on the paper to get the toner to transfer?

wallpaper, that's kinda funny. Try taking that to staples and see if they will print it :lol:

 

[zachtheterrible]

You know, I've never fed more than one sheet of any of these photo-papers into a laser printer at one time. You just put one sheet in at a time into the sheet feeder and it jammed?

yeah, i only fed one sheet into the printer and it jammed and totally screwed up the piece of paper. I just remembered that there is a guy that lives next door to me who workks on laser printers, copiers, etc. Im gonna ask him if he can do it for me next time I see him, and maybe if he can hook me up with a decent laser printer :lol: . Oh, and thanx for the recomendation on where to get the scotchbrite dirtylude. I went to Lowe's (dunno if they have that in Canada?) and they'd never even heard of it.

I dunno mstecha, that sounds like a loooong, drawn out process to me. Why not just draw on the board with an etch-resistant pen? To actually draw a complicated circuit would be sooooo time consuming. But whatever ya like :lol:

russlk, how long do u have ur oven on, and how high of a temperature? I might try that sometime.

 

[Russlk]

I sandwich the board, paper, and cloth between two pieces of glass and clamp with spring clamps. Set the temperature for 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes.