Homebrew PCBs

Hi Chris,

Thanks for helping with my question. That's two votes for using an
iron. Mike also responded saying he has success with the 'iron
method'. I guess that I'll do some experimentation for myself and see
how I get on.

Do you move the iron around (as if ironing a shirt) or do you apply
heat and pressure in one place for a while then lift and move the iron
somewhere else?

Best wishes and thanks,

Andy.


--- In Homebrew_PCBs@...m, "Chris Horne" <chris@s...> wrote:
>
> Hi, 
> 
> If its any help, I can only relate what I do.
> 
> I do a dozen or so 8" x 5.5" boards a week and I still use an Iron..
> the same one my wife uses to do the ironing.
> (more important toys to buy !)
> 
> I use an HP 1010 laser at 600 dpi to print on press-n-peel sheets
> it works a treat... --- 
> 
> I clean the boards with 600 wet and dry, rinse and dry them
> 
> Then iron on (middle steam heat, without the heat)
> with a single sheet of ordinary white paper between the iron and 
> press-n-peel.. I iron for about 1.5 minutes
> 
> Then quench under the tap and peel the sheet off
> 
> The process work fine for the boards I do, I get 98% success rate
> and I'm not going to mess with a process that works !
> 
> The biggest pain was hand drilling the holes..
> if you are doing Fibreglass, you need to buy carbide bits
> 
> I use mostly paper boards but still use carbide bits, they last 10's 
> of times longer.
> 
> Chris
> 
> In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "andrew566020" <andy.jrhall@b...> 
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I'm about to attempt my first homemade pcb after many years of 
> using
> > breadboards and veroboard for my electronics tinkering!
> > 
> > I've recently joined the group and have been avidly reading the 
> recent
> > posts and the archives. I do however have a few questions...
> > 
> > Many of the posts I've read advise against the use of an iron and
> > recommend a laminator instead. Because of this I went looking for a
> > suitable model. It struck me that many of the laminators for sale 
> were
> > quoting maximum thicknesses of 250 micron (1/4 mm), this doesn't 
> seem
> > nearly enough capacity, am I missing something?
> > 
> > Also I intend buying a laser printer. The HP laserjet 1022 is a 
> budget
> > model that is reputed to have high quality output. Would this be a
> > reasonable starting place or should I look elsewhere.
> > 
> > Sorry for the dumb questions but I really am at the bottom of this
> > learning curve so any help would be welcome..
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> > Andy.
> >
>