Homebrew PCBs

On Tue, 07 Mar 2006 20:59:59 +0100, soffee83 <soffee83@...> wrote:

> Ideally, I want the laminator, but I still can't get over that ".03x"
>
> idea. I've already got too much thicker stuff, and if it was a good
>
> enough system, it would be nice to even have the option of running
>
> "non-PCB" materials too, since it would be feeding them "through" the
>
> heated rollers (for long stuff). It also seems like, with a unit made
>
> to run various paper and thin plastic sheets,etc., you'd either be
>
> slightly changing the pressure as the thickness varied, or risking too
>
> much stress on the mechanics (or both). However, with the easy setup
>
> and consistency, and the firsthand feedback from here, it is the
>
> obvious choice.

That's why i use a fuser, a thickness restriction doesn't sound good to me  
either, and i'm cheap.


> I still wish someone would rig something together just for the PCB's,
>
> either using the guts of a readily available cheap laminator, or some
>
> common commercial heating and rolling parts. When you think about how
>
> worthless a broken copier or printer is to "regular" people, we
>
> probably wouldn't have much trouble obtaining one. I could probably
>
> rig the roller/pressure/feed part somehow, but unfortunately, with
>
> what I've heard on DIY mods, the electrical half of it, and the
>
> understanding of the technical theory behind laser printers,etc., I
>
> myself wouldn't be capable of devising anything without some more
>
> specific instructions.

There isn't much to understand really. You just take out the fuser unit,  
look that it has enough travel for thick boards  , rig up a temperature  
controller and a slow motor, done.

>
>
> If anybody knows of some good online info on gutting printers,
>
> laminators,etc. for this stuff, please let me know.
>

I wrote a page on using a fuser for PCBs years ago:
<http://www.trethan.at.tf/pub/fuser/fuser_as_laminator.html>

It's not much, and it's very old and probably obsolete in points, but it's  
something.
There's also pictures of the one i use:

<http://www.trethan.at.tf//pub/img1/>

those starting with fuser, ignore the others almost all obsolete.
It's out of a copier and thus very wide, which i find practical.

Others have done the same, even replicated my simple temperature  
controller and found it working.

ST