PCB roll your own
- Thread starter kym
- Start date
demonicpicaxeguy
Senior Member
lol my science teacher from high school did somthing like that using an old hp plotter
he modified the feeder with a little bit of cutting here and there plus a nice strong servo to push the feeder up to load the pcbs
the feeder could have up to 10 pcbs in it at a time and printint was a simple case of fill the cartridges and and edit a bitmap file
he modified the feeder with a little bit of cutting here and there plus a nice strong servo to push the feeder up to load the pcbs
the feeder could have up to 10 pcbs in it at a time and printint was a simple case of fill the cartridges and and edit a bitmap file
Tricky Dicky
Senior Member
As an aside, my Epson R300 has the facility to print on CD and DVD disks and it occured to me it might be possible with a little modification to the CD/DVD carrier to print direct to PCB. Has anyone tried this on an Epson or any other similarly capable printer?
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That had crossed my mind too TD.
I've never tried it as I was hoping I could persuade someone else to try it first.
I would put a fiver on failure. Firstly, surfaces usually need an absorbant coating to take the ink (and allow it to dry quickly).
Secondly/thirdly, will the dried ink be soluble in etcher? Even if it just smudges a smidge it will be useless. In fact I'll put a tenner on it.
But give it a go.
Edited by - Dippy on 09/03/2007 21:02:58
I've never tried it as I was hoping I could persuade someone else to try it first.
I would put a fiver on failure. Firstly, surfaces usually need an absorbant coating to take the ink (and allow it to dry quickly).
Secondly/thirdly, will the dried ink be soluble in etcher? Even if it just smudges a smidge it will be useless. In fact I'll put a tenner on it.
But give it a go.
Edited by - Dippy on 09/03/2007 21:02:58
Tricky Dicky
Senior Member
The smudging and drying issue is a problem. I remember mistakenly passing photocopyable transparencies through the printer and they took ages to dry and the printing just did not adhere that well.
I might be wrong about this but I understand the printable CDs and DVDs have a micro-etched surface similar to anodised aluminium and the small pits absorb the ink. It might increase aherence and avoid smudging to pass the PCB through the acid first long enough to etch the surface and then print on.
Like you Dippy I was hoping someone else might have tried it first!
AS far as the ink acting as a resist I do not know, but those pens that the likes of Rapid sell are nothing more than overhead tranparency pens and from experience work remarkably well.
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I might be wrong about this but I understand the printable CDs and DVDs have a micro-etched surface similar to anodised aluminium and the small pits absorb the ink. It might increase aherence and avoid smudging to pass the PCB through the acid first long enough to etch the surface and then print on.
Like you Dippy I was hoping someone else might have tried it first!
AS far as the ink acting as a resist I do not know, but those pens that the likes of Rapid sell are nothing more than overhead tranparency pens and from experience work remarkably well.
Â
Mycroft2152
Senior Member
Give the fiver to your favorite charity.
I'm using an Epson R220 and printing on pcb's. It is not as easy as it sounds.
The pcb must be extremely clean and wiped down with solvent. You must use a pigment based ink, Durbrite or MISPRO (yellow seems to work best). The ink must be carefully cured (use a toaster oven). And only use warm FeCl3 as the etchant.
You have to play with the printer ink settings to get good coverage and not pooling.
The CD tray can be trimmed with a dremeL to allow a ~10 cm square board.
Now comes the hard part. The pigment ink Will clog up the inkjet heads in a short period of time. The pigment ink WILL clog up the suction tube under the ink pad. Then the printer is dead. Cleaning is a PITA.
But it can be done, Toner transfer is much easier.
Good Luck
Edited by - mycroft2152 on 09/03/2007 22:34:25
I'm using an Epson R220 and printing on pcb's. It is not as easy as it sounds.
The pcb must be extremely clean and wiped down with solvent. You must use a pigment based ink, Durbrite or MISPRO (yellow seems to work best). The ink must be carefully cured (use a toaster oven). And only use warm FeCl3 as the etchant.
You have to play with the printer ink settings to get good coverage and not pooling.
The CD tray can be trimmed with a dremeL to allow a ~10 cm square board.
Now comes the hard part. The pigment ink Will clog up the inkjet heads in a short period of time. The pigment ink WILL clog up the suction tube under the ink pad. Then the printer is dead. Cleaning is a PITA.
But it can be done, Toner transfer is much easier.
Good Luck
Edited by - mycroft2152 on 09/03/2007 22:34:25
Dippy you owe me a fiver:
I have just finished converting my Epson
CX 3500 to do just this.
First you must lift the print head to allow
the PCB to pass through the printer. Then after printing you heat the PCB to about 230 degrees Celsius and this cures the ink, also making it etch resistant. then etch the board
with Ferric Chloride. Easier than toner transfer and no need for transfer paper.
Does it work You better believe it>>>
Kym
I have just finished converting my Epson
CX 3500 to do just this.
First you must lift the print head to allow
the PCB to pass through the printer. Then after printing you heat the PCB to about 230 degrees Celsius and this cures the ink, also making it etch resistant. then etch the board
with Ferric Chloride. Easier than toner transfer and no need for transfer paper.
Does it work You better believe it>>>
Kym
demonicpicaxeguy
Senior Member
geez i've got it easy a bloke on the otherside of sydney that does it as a hobby all he needs is measurements and a bitmap file and he'll do as many as i want
Edited by - demonicpicaxeguy on 10/03/2007 22:05:47
Edited by - demonicpicaxeguy on 10/03/2007 22:05:47
JPL
I am using standard Epson Dura-brite ink, but
others are Refilling with MISPRO inks. and they say this is better as etch resist: As for the head clogging , I have not had this happen to me , but i think part of that problem is that they are pre-heating the board, before feeding it through the printer.
Kym
I am using standard Epson Dura-brite ink, but
others are Refilling with MISPRO inks. and they say this is better as etch resist: As for the head clogging , I have not had this happen to me , but i think part of that problem is that they are pre-heating the board, before feeding it through the printer.
Kym
Mycroft2152
Senior Member
Using a preheated pcb may accelerate the clogging, but the clogging occurs both in the head and in the suction tube. Epson printers using pigment inks are notorious for clogging and shutting down during regular printing.
Stefan's conversion, one of the first, clogged in a relatively sort period of time, without any extra heat.
Direct inkjet printing pcb's is still in the tinkerer's mode and not for the faint hearted.
Stefan's conversion, one of the first, clogged in a relatively sort period of time, without any extra heat.
Direct inkjet printing pcb's is still in the tinkerer's mode and not for the faint hearted.