Homebrew PCBs

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Russell Shaw" <rjshaw@...>
> You lay one printout on top of the other and align them and stick them 
> together
> with two small pieces of double-sided foam tape (it is commonly 1.6mm 
> which is
> the same as the pcb thickness). This is a 30s operation, and easy after 
> the
> first time.

I like that. Simple is good. Seems to me I have room for a small lightbox on 
the worktable. What would you suggest?

>> All that aside, the quality of the artwork would seem to be paramount. 
>> The
>> laserjet prints very clean, very crisp edges. Filled areas are very dense
>> black and consistent. The Epson 1280 (28800 dpi) only manages a fuzzy 
>> edge,
>> not crisp at all, and not nearly as dense.
>
> You're obviously using either crap ink, crap transparency or both. Genuine
> epson ink and transparency gives a sharpness and density you couldn't 
> fault.
> There are certain refill inks and transparency that give acceptable 
> results
> too.

Actually, it's very expensive ink, and better in the Epson than the Epson 
ink. I fancy myself a photographer in other moments. Granted, everything 
seen through a 50x microscope looks flawed. The LJ is just less flawed than 
the inkjet.

> > If both are available, I expect
>> you would choose the laserjet. And if you're printing on the laserjet
>> anyway, why not go straight to the board for the onesie-twosie?
>
> Double-sided pcbs with TT are a pain. Laminators cost a lot more than
> building a lightbox. Lightboxes are a lot easier to build than a 
> laminator.

My laminator cost $50. Even with a lightbox, I would still want to use it 
for panels.

> TT can use non-coated pcb. You can spray on positive resist to pcb after
> adequate cleaning, but a lot of users don't master the cleaning step.
> You can apply your own dry-film resist to pcb, but it's a bit tedious
> without the right machine.

And expensive, at least at Think and Tinker's prices. Committing to 50 sq. 
ft. of material is asking quite a bit.