Homebrew PCBs

Hi John, sounds like our processes are very similar!  I have been 
trying different papers around the house and office and most seem to 
work.  Don't use my wifes nail polish remover though, I use 
the "Manly" version called acetone :-)

I haven't tried the staples paper yet myself, but will sooner or 
later.

As for press-n-peel, I have no idea as I have never used it.  
However, I have seen some of the stuff at the local radio shack and 
most of it looks wider than the .010" I am getting using toner 
transfer.  Don't know anything more about it other than a quick 
glance of the "stickers" hanging on the wall there.

The most recent toner transfer lesson I have learned (or am 
learning) is that not all PCB material is the same.  I have tried 
about 3 different brands/types of pcb material and all worked 
fantastic.  Then I bought some from a different company and 
everything started getting really bad for the toner transfer.  I 
tried sanding, buffing with 1000 grit, scrubbing with scotch bright 
pads, cleaning with every solvent in sight and nothing worked.  The 
final solution - a pre-soak in Ferric Chloride for a few minutes, 
then a good cleaning etc. Worked good on the last two circuit boards 
I etched.

It's a neat process and kind of fun too!

Chris




--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, whoop@b... wrote:
>
> Greetings from the UK. I joined this group a week or so ago. So I 
am  
> new to all this. I have just used the toner method and it seems 
to  
> work fine for me. I am happy.
> 
> 1] I used one of those abrasive PCB cleaner blocks to get a shiny  
> board, making sure not to touch it with greasy fingers 
afterwards.  
> Deburring the edges is easy, you just whack them down the edge of 
a  
> metal table to fold the copper back down. Use a file if you must.
> 
> 2] Printed my images using an Apple Laserwriter 4/600. I found an  
> ancient Mac OS9 version of the laserwriter utility that lets a 
person  
> set the default print density on the printer. The toner cartridge 
was  
> an exchange refill, so nothing special there.
> 
> 3] Used the wife's domestic iron on a hot setting. Once the paper 
had  
> started to stick down I could happily move the iron around to give 
an  
> even heat. I think the art here is to maintain intimate connection 
of  
> paper and PCB without using undue pressure on the iron to squidge 
the  
> pads and tracks. I didn't time it or anything. After a few trial  
> boards it worked fine for me.
> 
> I Tried several papers I had around the house. I used a paper 
often  
> used for digital prints called 'Mellotex'. This is made by Tullis  
> Russel. Free UK samples 0800 74 74 77. This seems to work OK, I 
get a  
> good dense black but it is a bit hairy. After a good soak in 
water  
> the hairs mostly come off. I found the black toner was so well 
bonded  
> on I could scrub the boards. I also tried a paper called Detec, 
also  
> used a lot by digital print houses, but that was no good at all. 
The  
> wife's silicon baking parchment worked wonderfully on the 
transfer  
> side of things, but didn't accept a very dense coating of toner 
to  
> start with, so I abandoned it.
> 
> I looked up that Staples glossy paper, but the UK order codes 
don't  
> seem to match the US ones. Can anyone identify the paper I should 
try  
> for me please?
> <http://www.staples.co.uk/ENG/Catalog/cat_class.asp? 
> CatIds=1101,1287&name=UK%5FCL%5FPhoto+Paper>
> 
> 4] Did a quick very minor touch-up with a Staedtler Lumocolor 
pen.  
> 318 series. I read that people insist on the red pen, but I used  
> black and it works just fine. This I shall have to hide so that 
my  
> wife doesn't steal it for writing on freezer bags in the kitchen.
> 
> 5] Into a ferric chloride bath
> 
> 6] Erm, not sure my wife realises her nail varnish remover has  
> disappeared yet.
> 
> 7] Drilled the holes with a cheap but very solid cast metal 
pillar  
> drill that takes a standard drill. This cost 5 GBP, about 8.6 US  
> bucks, from LIDL, a European chain store. I've been drilling .5mm  
> holes happily on this.
> 
> Excellent. Job done. A cheap answer to my needs. I was going to 
use  
> Press'n'Peel but I won't bother with that expense unless I want 
to  
> get down to really fine work. Is P'n'P really that great?
> 
> Whoop John
>