Homebrew PCBs

Thought I would put in my two cents on the subject.

I make small pcb's for my BEAM robots using the free version of 
EAGLE cad. For my purposes a 3" by 4" board is huge. Making the pcb 
is only one step in a project, and shouldn't be a project in itself.

I picked up a GBC laminator, the smaller 4" version and am using it 
with the Staples paper (aka Gootee paper) for both the traces and 
the component sides.

All I can say it that it works. No fuss, pretty simple. I had 
considered building/converting a fuser. But this sertup is 
inexpensive (the smaller GBC is ~ $50) and easy to store.

I'm sure that building a fuser could improve quality and reduce the 
number of passes, but for my purposes its overkill.

I recommend the GBC / staples paper combo to anyone starting out.

Myc


P.S. I found that toner transfer works on painted surfaces. To 
improve the appearance of my bots, I give the top side of the pcb a 
light coat of Krylon flat white and then toner transfer. Looks great.