Homebrew PCBs

I saw the thread concerning the mod of the Lexmark E260 and was inspired to have a go.

Not wanting to waste any money, I dug around in the junk cupboard and found an old Laserjet 2200DN. Seemed as good as any as it has an almost straight-through paper path.

A few simple mods and 2 hours later and the unit can print direct to PCB - no electrical mods. In fact, it was simply a case of reducing the pressure on the registration rollers and the transfer roll for the added thickness of the PCB (I only had 1/16" single-sided board floating around).

Because the LJ2200 triggers imaging from the registration sensor, and the registration roller is before the sensor, once the board starts feeding through the registration roll the imaging is identical every time. I couldn't be bothered bypassing the fuser/thermistor but the LJ2200 has a transport assembly between the drum and fuser of about 6" so the PCB simple sits in this gap after imaging - I remove the drum, list out the PCB, and reinstall the drum.

I have printed some test patterns, down to 3mil traces with 3mil spacing. Under a magnifying glass the traces appear uniform and even. I haven't bothered to try fusing the traces or etching at this width only because I don't need to go that small... 10mil is small enough for what I do, and that etches just fine.

Can you put up details of your mod on the Yahoo site?  Could you elaborate
on " removing the drum...", etc.?
 
Thanks

  _____  

From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of sentientnz
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2010 3:07 PM
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Direct Laser Printing on the cheap


  

I saw the thread concerning the mod of the Lexmark E260 and was inspired to
have a go.

Not wanting to waste any money, I dug around in the junk cupboard and found
an old Laserjet 2200DN. Seemed as good as any as it has an almost
straight-through paper path.

A few simple mods and 2 hours later and the unit can print direct to PCB -
no electrical mods. In fact, it was simply a case of reducing the pressure
on the registration rollers and the transfer roll for the added thickness of
the PCB (I only had 1/16" single-sided board floating around).

Because the LJ2200 triggers imaging from the registration sensor, and the
registration roller is before the sensor, once the board starts feeding
through the registration roll the imaging is identical every time. I
couldn't be bothered bypassing the fuser/thermistor but the LJ2200 has a
transport assembly between the drum and fuser of about 6" so the PCB simple
sits in this gap after imaging - I remove the drum, list out the PCB, and
reinstall the drum.

I have printed some test patterns, down to 3mil traces with 3mil spacing.
Under a magnifying glass the traces appear uniform and even. I haven't
bothered to try fusing the traces or etching at this width only because I
don't need to go that small... 10mil is small enough for what I do, and that
etches just fine.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That's amazing news, thanks for the heads up. I've got a laserjet 5n which
appears to be a pretty similar form factor. Does the 2200 have the fold down
paper entry on the front that you're sending the pcb in on?
Do you have any photos or anything on how you reduced the pressure on
rollers etc? any more info would be wonderful, as I would love to try
especially if I could do it in such a way as to be able to still print onto
paper!

Cheers,
Andrew

On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 8:06 AM, sentientnz <sentientnz@...> wrote:

>
>
> I saw the thread concerning the mod of the Lexmark E260 and was inspired to
> have a go.
>
> Not wanting to waste any money, I dug around in the junk cupboard and found
> an old Laserjet 2200DN. Seemed as good as any as it has an almost
> straight-through paper path.
>
> A few simple mods and 2 hours later and the unit can print direct to PCB -
> no electrical mods. In fact, it was simply a case of reducing the pressure
> on the registration rollers and the transfer roll for the added thickness of
> the PCB (I only had 1/16" single-sided board floating around).
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I actually thought I was looking for a 5n when I went digging in the cupboard - was a little surprised to find it was a 2200.

The 5n appears to be pretty similar so I can't see why it shouldn't work.

My 2200 cannot be used for paper for 2 reasons...
1) In figuring out how to make it work, I destroyed the bypass feed roll clutch, so I had to remove it.

2) Reducing the pressure on the registration roll will prevent it from feeding paper - regi roll is used for both bypass and cassette (Tray 1).

3) I had to remove a tin guide from between the regi roll and the drum to make the paperpath straighter.. normal paper will jam now, assuming it could get this far.


At the moment, I am trying to modify a fuser from a Xerox production machine to use like a laminator, but once I figure it out / give up I will get the camera out.


With regards to the regi roll pressure, I only had to remove the springs and replace them with lighter ones because I don't use the bypass feed roll - so I can push the PCB directly into the registration assembly to start the feed.

The same with the transfer roll.. I removed the spring from underneath, and clipped them in half, then reinstalled. This reduces the pressure significantly and allows the regi rollers to 'push' the pcb through between the drum and transfer roll.


--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...> wrote:

>
> That's amazing news, thanks for the heads up. I've got a laserjet 5n which
> appears to be a pretty similar form factor. Does the 2200 have the fold down
> paper entry on the front that you're sending the pcb in on?
> Do you have any photos or anything on how you reduced the pressure on
> rollers etc? any more info would be wonderful, as I would love to try
> especially if I could do it in such a way as to be able to still print onto
> paper!
> 
> Cheers,
> Andrew
>

Just as an (interesting?) aside, many years ago, Siemens had a "Cold Fusion" process on their ND3 Laser Printers that they sold from about 1983 onwards. The biggest trouble was that the liquid/gas they used was a Freon derivate that was not good for the world's atmosphere......they then returned to hot fusing......

See here:-

http://www.oce.com/gbr/About/Technologies/Technologymilestones.htm

But there are a few different chemicals that will cause the toner to melt.......you just need to experiment....if anyone wishes too!! But don't damage the atmosphere or yourselves please.....
Greetings from

Andy Mathison

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well yeah, acetone fumes apparently do a pretty good job, might be a little
slower though. Bit more difficult to automate too, you'd need a wide tub of
the stuff with a sealing lid that could slide open on demand when the pcb
was sitting over it. probably start melting the plastic housing of the
printer too. I guess a hot wire element would be quite slow
too considering the copper you need to heat up before the toner would melt
to it.

Andrew


On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 11:09 PM, Andrewdavid.mathison <
andrewdavid.mathison@...> wrote:

>
>
> Just as an (interesting?) aside, many years ago, Siemens had a "Cold
> Fusion" process on their ND3 Laser Printers that they sold from about 1983
> onwards. The biggest trouble was that the liquid/gas they used was a Freon
> derivate that was not good for the world's atmosphere......they then
> returned to hot fusing......
>
> See here:-
>
> http://www.oce.com/gbr/About/Technologies/Technologymilestones.htm
>
> But there are a few different chemicals that will cause the toner to
> melt.......you just need to experiment....if anyone wishes too!! But don't
> damage the atmosphere or yourselves please.....
> Greetings from
>
> Andy Mathison
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...> wrote:
>
> Well yeah, acetone fumes apparently do a pretty good job, might be a little
> slower though. 

Hello,

This is my first post here. Just wanted to add that I just tried Touluene (Tolulene?). It took the cured toner right off the PCB. So I imagine it would, like the acetone, "cure" the toner. This suff is very potent though, so take it out doors. Or at least to a ventilated garage. I will also see how Xylene works too and get back soon.

Thank you,
Rick H.

Thanks for the tip.  That would be spelled toluene (pronounced like "tall" "you" "een")

Donald.
--
*Plain Text* email -- it's an accessibility issue
()  no proprietary attachments; no html mail
/\  ascii ribbon campaign - <www.asciiribbon.org>

----- Original Message -----

> From: "mellow_dog" <mellow_dog@...>
> To: "Homebrew PCBs" <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 5:24:09 PM
> Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Direct Laser Printing on the cheap
> 
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Well yeah, acetone fumes apparently do a pretty good job, might be a little
> > slower though. 
> 
> Hello,
> 
> This is my first post here. Just wanted to add that I just tried
> Touluene (Tolulene?). It took the cured toner right off the PCB. So I
> imagine it would, like the acetone, "cure" the toner. This suff is
> very potent though, so take it out doors. Or at least to a ventilated
> garage. I will also see how Xylene works too and get back soon.
> 
> Thank you,
> Rick H.
> 
>

When I first used acetone, I was using a paper towel and it did not
work very well. I took an old worn out green scrubber soaked with it
and it was like magic.


On 9/24/10, mellow_dog <mellow_dog@...> wrote:
>
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...> wrote:
>>
>> Well yeah, acetone fumes apparently do a pretty good job, might be a
>> little
>> slower though.
>
> Hello,
>
> This is my first post here. Just wanted to add that I just tried Touluene
> (Tolulene?). It took the cured toner right off the PCB. So I imagine it
> would, like the acetone, "cure" the toner. This suff is very potent though,
> so take it out doors. Or at least to a ventilated garage. I will also see
> how Xylene works too and get back soon.
>
> Thank you,
> Rick H.
>
>


-- 
Paul Mateer, AA9GG
Elan Engineering Corp.
www.elanengr.com
NAQCC 3123, SKCC 4628, FPQRP 2003

Hi,

Many years ago I used Toluene when working at Rockwell aerospace. It's nasty
stuff it is an accumulative poison that is absorbed through the skin. Over
time it does very bad things to liver and kidney. Breathing the vapor is
also not a good thing. At least acetone is not absorbed nearly as easy
through the skin. 

That's my 2 cent's just a warning if you do use it.

Thanks,

Ron

    
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com> , Andrew Leech <coronasensei@...>
wrote:
>
> Well yeah, acetone fumes apparently do a pretty good job, might be a
little
> slower though. 

Hello,

This is my first post here. Just wanted to add that I just tried Touluene
(Tolulene?). It took the cured toner right off the PCB. So I imagine it
would, like the acetone, "cure" the toner. This suff is very potent though,
so take it out doors. Or at least to a ventilated garage. I will also see
how Xylene works too and get back soon.

Thank you,
Rick H.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In article
<1397005644.1946727.1285378249414.JavaMail.root@...>,
   Donald H Locker <dhlocker@...> wrote:
> Thanks for the tip.  That would be spelled toluene (pronounced like
> "tall" "you" "een")

As a one time industrial chemist I can assure you it is pronounced as
spelt, tol as in tolerate, and you really don't want to be messing with
it. It isn't very nice.

-- 
Stuart Winsor

I agree with Mr. Locker.

During my long and varied tenure in the electronics industry, toluene 
was, and still is, one of the
materials that was (is) handled with utmost caution. It's not the kind 
of material you want to have
in your home, or use, unless under highly controlled environments.
 
IMHO, no one should mess around with this material.

Roland F. Harriston, P.D.



lists wrote:
>  
>
> In article
> <1397005644.1946727.1285378249414.JavaMail.root@... 
> <mailto:1397005644.1946727.1285378249414.JavaMail.root%40sz0052a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net>>,
> Donald H Locker <dhlocker@... <mailto:dhlocker%40comcast.net>> 
> wrote:
> > Thanks for the tip. That would be spelled toluene (pronounced like
> > "tall" "you" "een")
>
> As a one time industrial chemist I can assure you it is pronounced as
> spelt, tol as in tolerate, and you really don't want to be messing with
> it. It isn't very nice.
>
> -- 
> Stuart Winsor
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks for the pronunciator - I couldn't come up with a single-syllable word that had the right sound - tall was best I could do.  FWIW, I posted that email on 24 Sep! so it languished for a bit over a week in the aether.  (Which is not neither ee-ther nor ay-ther, but aether :)

And yes, it is definitely not a pleasant chemical.  Right up there with MEK in my book.

Regards,
Donald.
--
*Plain Text* email -- it's an accessibility issue
()  no proprietary attachments; no html mail
/\  ascii ribbon campaign - <www.asciiribbon.org>

----- Original Message -----

> From: "lists" <Stuartlists@...>
> To: "Homebrew PCBs" <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Saturday, October 2, 2010 1:15:01 PM
> Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Direct Laser Printing on the cheap
> 
> In article
> <1397005644.1946727.1285378249414.JavaMail.root@...>,
>    Donald H Locker <dhlocker@...> wrote:
> > Thanks for the tip.  That would be spelled toluene (pronounced like
> > "tall" "you" "een")
> 
> As a one time industrial chemist I can assure you it is pronounced as
> spelt, tol as in tolerate, and you really don't want to be messing
> with it. It isn't very nice.
> 
> -- 
> Stuart Winsor
>