16 Jun
2006
16 Jun
'06
2:46 p.m.
On Friday 16 June 2006 01:27 am, 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.
This _is_ being done, and the technique is called "toner transfer" if I'm
remembering right. There were a couple of yahoo groups that were devoted to
this very subject.
The two tricky aspects of doing this were getting the right paper, so that
toner adhesion would be good and transfer to the copper would be also, and
you of course want to remove the paper at some point and leave the toner
behind, and also applying sufficient heat and in a consistent way to make
the transfer happen and adhesion good.
A few people were using the fuser portion of an otherwise defunct laser
printer to do the actual transfer part, and getting good results, as well
as a few other things.
A search on "toner transfer" in yahoo groups should turn some things up...
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin