16 Jun
2006
16 Jun
'06
8:02 a.m.
Scott Quinn wrote:
A while ago (late '80s, early '90s) I heard a
suggestion for using copier toner as PCB etch resist
(draw on paper, copy onto overhead transparencies, iron onto the PCB).
Now that PCB layout software is available easily, as are laser printers, has anyone here
tried
it? I'm wondering how well it would resolve for finer-pitch DIP/SIP packages, or if
the etchant would eat
through the traces.
One of the last of the local component retailers around here sells this system:
http://www.pulsar.gs/PCB/a_Pages/1_Menu/overview.html
It *claims* to have good pitch resolution and the etchant getting through the
toner to the traces is supposed to be addressed by the application of a second
type of film which adheres to the toner.
I've been thinking about trying it, but have yet to do so. It would be worth
it if it works, but it's in the category of "ya spends y'r money and takes
y'r chances".
As a kid in the 70s I made PCBs using the photo-resist technique, but I can't
find supplies for that anymore, at least not locally (and it was a tedious process).