Homebrew PCBs

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Martin Klingensmith <martin@...> 
wrote:
>
> Are you doing this, James?
> I'm seriously considering it.
> --
> Martin K

No, I am not. I have gathered the documentation on my site with an eye 
to making it accessable to others and with an eye to doing it myself 
in the future. At this point, I just don't have the space (or time) 
for another project. 

As far as I know, only Volkan and Stefen have actually produced PCB's 
via this system, but thier documentation of the steps required is 
excellent and inspires confidence that the process is entirly doable. 

http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/directinkjetresist.htm

When only Volkan had done it, I could understand some reluctance in 
others trying to duplicate a "one-off" success, but Stefan was able to 
without much trouble, and in doing so proved the method is repeatable.

The "holy grail" would be a durabrite or pezo head printer that can 
print on board stock without modification, and there was some talk 
about using the Epson printers that can print directly on CD's. (what 
was that? the R220? 230? Are they really compatible with the MSPRO 
inks?). It would seem that smaller PCBs, of a size that would fit 
inside the circle of a CD, could be printed without modification.

There was also another company who posted information about a printer 
that could print on thicker media (at the beginning of this thread 
infact!) but had not tried the inks or tried to cure and etch 
anything. If you are listening, your sales could be strongly advanced 
by spending a few moments trying to do what Volkan and Stefan have 
done. There are a LOT of people who would love a ready-made package 
for produceing such professional boards at home.

I'm rather shocked that others have not tried this. In the past I have 
offered (and paid) a small reward for those (2 at this point) who have 
made progress with this new method, and I wish I could offer more 
especially since I have not been able to work on it myself. I'm a bit 
pressed for funds at the moment, but perhaps others will encourage 
deveopment for the greater good of the community?