Etching PC Boards With a Sandblaster?

[Barry S.]

Has anyone ever tried making a PC board with Press-n-Peel Blue
Transfer Film or some other resist and instead of etching it, putting
it in a abrasive cabinet at about 20 psi with relatively smooth glass
beads to remove unwanted copper?

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[Spehro Pefhany]

Has anyone ever tried making a PC board with Press-n-Peel Blue
Transfer Film or some other resist and instead of etching it, putting
it in a abrasive cabinet at about 20 psi with relatively smooth glass
beads to remove unwanted copper?

If it doesn't work you can use it as a non-chemical method of
stripping the resist. ;-)

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Jim Thompson]

If it doesn't work you can use it as a non-chemical method of
stripping the resist. ;-)

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

My expectation is that the copper is too soft.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Rene Tschaggelar]

Has anyone ever tried making a PC board with Press-n-Peel Blue
Transfer Film or some other resist and instead of etching it, putting
it in a abrasive cabinet at about 20 psi with relatively smooth glass
beads to remove unwanted copper?

How would the sand know which copper to remove ?
You'd need a mask on top of the copper.

Rene

 

[Barry S.]

How would the sand know which copper to remove ?
You'd need a mask on top of the copper.

The mask would be the resist (press & peel) on top of the copper.

Just thought I'd ask if anyone had tried it.

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[Spehro Pefhany]

How would the sand know which copper to remove ?
You'd need a mask on top of the copper.
Rene

A kind of rubbery mask can be used to allow selective sandblasting of
glass. The media bounces off the mask and cuts into the unmasked
material.

Toner is a polymer but I don't know if it would work in this
application. My guess is results will be somewhere between lousy and
horrible.

If the OP wants to know, he can repeat the post in
rec.crafts.metalworking- there's bound to be someone there who can or
has already tried it.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Jamie]

No, but i made my self an EDM method that works good using my little
machine shop i have in my basement..
its composed of stepper motors, X,Y,Z movement, Oil tray, Board anchor
the Z movement is the retraction of the Quill to pass over area's to not
be removed.
all driven from the PC via serial port into a PIC chip at the table..
its slow, not good for production but great for a few boards..
it will do double sided ( just needs to be turned over manually), i
use non flash able oil with a circulator pump with clean able filter.
only problem i have currently is the noise it makes (RF), for this
i placed the whole unit in the metal emclosure.
it solves most but not all the noise. it appears that the loading
on my lines just out side of my home is generating pulses to be heard in
AM rigs near by!
oh well...
in any case, there is no chemicals, no photo crap to worry about..
P.S.
the output from the PC is a simple app i wrote that scans a BMP image.

 

[Active8]

My expectation is that the copper is too soft.

...Jim Thompson

That toner is some pretty hard shit, isn't it.

Now a rubber resist *would* work.

 

[Active8]

No, but i made my self an EDM method that works good using my little
machine shop i have in my basement..
its composed of stepper motors, X,Y,Z movement, Oil tray, Board anchor
the Z movement is the retraction of the Quill to pass over area's to not
be removed.

If your deal works better than ProtoMax while keeping the pads
aliged to the holes, good job!

all driven from the PC via serial port into a PIC chip at the table..
its slow, not good for production but great for a few boards..
it will do double sided ( just needs to be turned over manually), i
use non flash able oil with a circulator pump with clean able filter.

The ProtoMax didn't use oil. Cutting tool oil?

only problem i have currently is the noise it makes (RF), for this

The ProtoMax makes a horrid audible noise.

i placed the whole unit in the metal emclosure.
it solves most but not all the noise. it appears that the loading
on my lines just out side of my home is generating pulses to be heard in
AM rigs near by!

Bitchin' dude!

oh well...
in any case, there is no chemicals, no photo crap to worry about..
P.S.
the output from the PC is a simple app i wrote that scans a BMP image.

So what kind of resolution can you get?

 

[Rene Tschaggelar]

The mask would be the resist (press & peel) on top of the copper.
Just thought I'd ask if anyone had tried it.

I tend to think the mask has to be much tougher against sand
than the copper. Eg some ceramics or so. A polymer does it not.

Rene

 

[Ian Molton]

I tend to think the mask has to be much tougher against sand
than the copper. Eg some ceramics or so. A polymer does it not.

throw a brick at a sheet of glass on the top of your table. then try the
same with a sheet of thin rubber.