Homebrew PCBs

i do not understand this.
i was aware that there are inkjet printers on the market which can print to 
cds.
but how does this ensure you that it takes floor polish?
the thickness is no problem at all, you can always figure out some more or 
less complicated modification to get it taking pcbs, also standard 1.5mm 
material.

i do not like the thought to sacrifice material thickness...
the mechanical stability of this "very thin" .5 mm stuff is not the best i 
think.
also the 1mm i have suffers severe problems of deforming due to tension of 
the copper tracks on one side (if you hot tin them for example.).

but i see no problem to use 1.5mm material.
for first tests, maybe it will be good to use thin material, to avoid 
wasting
worktime on modifying it only to see it doesn't work.

please don't be fixed so much on the "will it eat the pcbs" issue.
your problem is the head, and to get IT ti eat the polish / special ink 
resist.

what i fear most:
the image of an inkjet is a couple of "dots".
what if you can't get it to make the dots connected to each other on the 
pcb surface?
what if you don't get an even surface with no holes in it?
maybe baking may help but i don't think so.
this is my concern, not that mechanical feed stuff, that you can fix with 
enough time...

i have lots of exams these days, no time to experiment.
but next week i will try vinegar on the hp (only to see it changes nothing 
;-)) and use strong water diluted polish,
and maybe, if there is one at ebay for VERY cheap i also may get a piezo 
inkjet.

okay, i hope you finally get a epson for next to nothing and you can start 
experimenting soon.

another question:
how is it with epson / canon, have they piezo heads on all (most) of their 
printers?
how is it with lexmark?
i know i can check this easily model by model sold at ebay with google but 
it would
be easier if there are no thermal epson/canon.
do you think it may be better to find a more "simple" printing head rather 
than a complicated?
i mean color is not really needed and 2000x2000 dpi also not.
my fear is this newer "high tec" heads my be harder to persuade to work 
with polish?
any comments on this appreciated...


regards
stefan


On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 16:03:59 -0000, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

> Oooh.. looks like -if-Epson printers are able to print Future floor
> polish, an Epson 1520 may be the way to go.
>
> There is a company selling the Epson 1520, renamed the Mediaprinter
> 5000, and repriced from $400 (current price from Epson) to $800! The
> "value added"? A caddy that holds 6 inkjet printable CD/DVDs. It was
> speculated on another list that the printer may have been modified to
> fit the thickness, but I just looked on Epson's site and in supported
> paper/media they listed Memorex Inkjet Printable CDRs, and that is for
> an unmodified 1520.
>
> So it sounds like the Epson 1520 will at least take thinner PCB. I
> think a CD is thinner that 1/16 inch PCB, but you can get thinner
> stuff. Unfortunately, unlike other inkjets the heads are not swappable
> so it'd have to be dedicated to this one thing. However, you can still
> get Epson 1520's from Epson or on eBay.
>
> And if this works, you can print just over 13x21 inches!
>
> As for registration of the print, look at the Mediaprinter 5000:
> http://www.gsmediasystems.com/printers-5000.html
>
> Note that the CD carrier has holes that fit the tractor feed on the
> 1520. So either make a carrier to hold the board, or drill holes in
> the edge of the board. Easy enough to make a jig to get the holes
> right and the same each time.
>
> Now I have to find a dirt cheap Epson to try this in first.
>
> Steve Greenfield
>
>
>
>
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