Homebrew PCBs

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "rdheiliger" <rdheiliger@...> 
wrote:
>
> I picked up some tips off Thomas Gootee's page and have done some 
> experimenting. Below are some things I have come up with that make 
> the process a bit easier.
> 
> I purchased the Photo Basic Gloss paper from Staples. It is the 
best 
> paper I have used, no pinholes. The problem was getting it back off 
> the board. Sore thumbs!!!
> 
> I found that after laminating the toner onto the board, putting the 
> board and paper into water at a full boil will totally release the 
> paper in less than ten minutes, it just floats off. Saves all those 
> sore thumbs. Just a quick going over with a toothbrush leaves a 
very 
> clean board. I tried some of the toner trasfer paper I used to use 
> and it came off in less than a minute. Toner Trasfer paper and all 
> other papers I have tried leave pinholes in the toner. 
> 
> One problem with the Photo Basic paper is that it takes a lot of 
heat 
> and time to get it onto the board cleanly. I have some of the 
> Hammermill Office Glossy on order. It is 34# paper, the Photo Basic 
> is 52# paper. The thinner paper should take less heat and time. It 
> should also work better with the laminator I am now using.
> 
> I bought one of those document laminators. The one I bought was - 
> QuickFinish PL100 (about $50), made by Banner American. I purchased 
> this one because you can set the temperature, and it was not too 
> expensive. I did a minor modification to get the temperature a bit 
> higher. Open the case, 5 screws in the bottom. Remove the two small 
> screws holding the temperature control to the lid, pull off the 
dial, 
> lower the board. On the board in addition to the main pot is a 
small 
> trimmer pot, adjust it fully counter clockwise. This increased the 
> total resistance seen by the controller, and thus increases the 
> temperature on the laminating roller. I would have liked to have 
gone 
> even higher, but this seems to work ok. Tape the artwork onto the 
> board and make a couple of initial passes thru the laminator. 
Remove 
> the tape. Make four or so more passes until the pattern can be seen 
> thru the paper. Moving from end to end on each pass helps keep the 
> heated roller up to temperature. I am hopeing that the thinner 
> Hammermill paper will transfer faster. The copper on the board 
sucks 
> the heat up on the first couple of passes. After that the board is 
> pretty warm. Then just drop it into the boiling water until the 
paper 
> falls off. Will repost results with the Hammermill paper.
> 
> As an alternative to the PL100 or a cloths iron, I use one of those 
> toner transfer tools, a 25W soldering iron with a copper disk on 
the 
> end. This gives me a better transfer than the cloths iron. I am 
never 
> able to get the edges laminated with a cloths iron. Not sure if it 
is 
> the smaller area of the head that allows more pressure or if it is 
> just a bit hotter. Worth the investment of $25. 
> 
> Link to toner transfer supplier -
> 
> http://www.treelineusa.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=196-
7310
> 
> 
> 
> RDHeiliger
>

This is an update on my previous post. 

I have done a comparison between the Staples Photo Basic and 
Hammermill Office Glossy.

Used the following process:
Minolta 1250 laser, this is a $100 copier, it is 5 years old
   I am using a generic toner refill
   Set at 1200 DPI, both brighness and contrast set to 100%

Use a Quick Finish PL100 laminator with the above modification
    both boards with equal number of passes, 6

Use the above boil the paper off procedure as above
  The Photo Basic paper floated off after about 13 minutes
  The Hammermill did not float off, but was so soft it rinsed off    
under the tap.
  Both boards came out very clean with almost to adhearing paper.

Neither board had pinholes in the toner.
After etching the Hammermill board showed signs of the toner begining 
to fall off at the edges of the traces, a longer etch would have 
reduced the trace size. The Photo Basic did not show any deteriation. 
The Photo Basic had 3 small places where the toner did not adhere, 
belive this is because the laminator is not hot enough to penetrate 
the heavier paper sufficiently or I had some dirt under the paper.

I would recomend either paper. The Hammermill is likely the best 
price/performance choice. With a bit hotter laminator the photo basic 
will produce the best board. The thinner Hammermill works better in 
the laminator I have and so will likely be the one I use the most. 

I have posted 3 photo's of the boards, after laminating, after 
etching and after cleaning. Sorry, but the resolution of my old 
camera is just not good enough to show how good the boards realy 
look. Also the photo basic left the traces so shiny that the 
reflections messed with the camera too.

Richard