Homebrew PCBs

I came across a reference to CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on the inkjet transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inkjet_transfers/ 

Message #20686. 

The technique involves printing your image, placing the image toner side down on the substrate, moistening the back of the image area with the solvent and burnishing to make the transfer. I tried it and it didn't work very well. The image tended to smear. Maybe I was too heavy handed or used too much CitraSolv. It was clear, however, that CitraSolv is an excellent toner solvent (at least for HP toner).

CitraSolv is a trade name and there are lot of different brands. The active ingredient is d-Limonene from citrus rind and it is a very effective degreaser and cleaner. I decided to try it as an adhesion promoter for toner transfer with the normal hot lamination process. I took a piece of regular FR-4 copper clad that had not been cleaned in any way. The board had the usual finger prints and oxidation spots. I wiped it with CitraSolv on a paper towel and let it dry. After the volatiles had evaporated, the board had a very fine oily film. I then taped the circuit image to the board and laminated as usual.

The transfer turned out perfectly; the same as if I had thoroughly cleaned the board with tarnX and acetone. I then erased the circuit toner from the board with the CitraSolv paper towel used to clean it. The interesting thing is that after removing the toner from the board, a very faint image of the circuit could be seen if the board were held obliquely to the light. The areas where the toner was affixed to the copper were faintly lighter than the surrounding copper. This leads me to believe that this stuff is indeed an adhesion promoter for toner.

More work needs to be done to prove that this is a viable process, but you might like to try it. At the very worst, you will have some cleaner for your household chores.


Baxter

El 09/10/10 21:06, bebx2000 escribi\ufffd:
> CitraSolv is a trade name and there are lot of different brands. The active ingredient is d-Limonene from citrus rind and it is a very effective degreaser and cleaner.
Funnily enough I noticed a couple of years ago when I peeled an orange 
over a face-down piece of paper with some laser print on it (the paper I 
put there just to stop the squirts of orange juice getting all over the 
desk), that the writing on the paper transferred to my desk where the 
orange had squirted.

I filed this away for later use for experimentation with toner transfer, 
but I never got around to trying it out.

I will be curious to know the results of any experiments you do with 
CitraSolv.

On Sat, 9 Oct 2010, bebx2000 wrote:

> I came across a reference to CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on 
> the inkjet transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and 
> crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.
[snip]
> More work needs to be done to prove that this is a viable process, but 
> you might like to try it. At the very worst, you will have some cleaner 
> for your household chores.

I'll have to dig out my laminator and check this out.  Hopefully it can 
allow Brother toner to work correctly.

-- 
David Griffith
dgriffi@...

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

sorry, the messages are private....

--- On Sat, 10/9/10, bebx2000 <bebx2000@...> wrote:

> I came across a reference to
> CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on the inkjet
> transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and
> crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inkjet_transfers/ 
> 
> Message #20686.

Hi,

See this --à http://radiokot.ru/lab/hardwork/34/   Russian site, but with
google translate is you will know everything.

 

Chris

From: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of David Griffith
Sent: 09 October 2010 21:31
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Toner Adhesion Promoter

 

  

On Sat, 9 Oct 2010, bebx2000 wrote:

> I came across a reference to CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on 
> the inkjet transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and 
> crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.
[snip]
> More work needs to be done to prove that this is a viable process, but 
> you might like to try it. At the very worst, you will have some cleaner 
> for your household chores.

I'll have to dig out my laminator and check this out. Hopefully it can 
allow Brother toner to work correctly.

-- 
David Griffith
dgriffi@... <mailto:dgriffi%40cs.csubak.edu> 

A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?





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

You just need to join that group, too.

Steve Greenfield AE7HD

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Herbert E. Plett" <cachureos@...> wrote:

>
> sorry, the messages are private....
> 
> --- On Sat, 10/9/10, bebx2000 <bebx2000@...> wrote:
> > I came across a reference to
> > CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on the inkjet
> > transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and
> > crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.
> > 
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inkjet_transfers/ 
> > 
> > Message #20686.
>

http://www.citra-solv.com/newcitraartist/index.html

Steve Greenfield AE7HD

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Herbert E. Plett" <cachureos@...> wrote:

>
> sorry, the messages are private....
> 
> --- On Sat, 10/9/10, bebx2000 <bebx2000@...> wrote:
> > I came across a reference to
> > CitraSolv concentrate for toner transfer on the inkjet
> > transfer forum. This forum is mostly devoted to arts and
> > crafts relative to image transfers on fabric, paper, etc.
> > 
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inkjet_transfers/ 
> > 
> > Message #20686.
>

> See this --à http://radiokot.ru/lab/hardwork/34/   Russian site, but with
> google translate is you will know everything.

Chris,

While Looking at your reference, I noticed the statement" "There is still everyone's favorite FGK-120".

I couldn't find any availability of the product in the US. However, from the photos of the Chinese marketers, I recognized it as a Tamerica LP-120 which is sold in the US for about $51. This is the laminator I use and it does a great job with toner transfer.

During my search for the FGK-120, I came across this URL,

http://easyelectronics.ru/izgotovlenie-pechatnyx-plat-videourok-nomer-dva.html

Although this is a bit off topic, The second video discusses a PCB tinning method using citric acid, boiling water and some metallic particles called alloy Rose. The process seems quite simple without any bad chemicals.  A bit of searching identified alloy Rose as a low temperature solder (203-212 deg F) called Rose's metal or Rose's alloy composed of bismuth, tin and lead,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose%27s_metal

You can make your own,

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/skerjastrond/casting.html

or buy it,

http://www.mcmaster.com/#bismuth-alloys/=97u0jk

The McMaster-Carr product seems to have the lowest melting point (203 deg F) with

Bismuth = 52.5%
Tin	= 15.5%
Lead	= 32.0%

wikipedia-Solder has this to say about Bismuth alloys,

"Bismuth significantly lowers the melting point and improves wettability. In presence of sufficient lead and tin, bismuth forms crystals of Sn16Pb32Bi52 with melting point of only 95 °C, which diffuses along the grain boundaries and may cause a joint failure at relatively low temperatures. A high-power part pre-tinned with an alloy of lead can therefore desolder under load when soldered with a bismuth-containing solder. Such joints are also prone to cracking. Alloys with more than 47% Bi expand upon cooling, which may be used to offset thermal expansion mismatch stresses. Retards growth of tin whiskers. Relatively expensive, limited availability."

Based upon this, Rose's alloy may of limited utility for DIY PCB tinning. However, With the low melting temperature, it seems almost as useful as polymorph (friendly) plastic for prototyping parts .

Baxter