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pcb etch mask, laminator stylee

G

Gazz

Jan 1, 1970
0
i'm getting into pcb making, i'm trying to be a skinflint and use one of the
many methods of transfering the etching mask to the board using a laser
printed layout, onto a piece of photo paper (hell of a lot cheaper than that
pcb transfer paper)

had a go last night using some bog standard photo paper i had laying about,
and it kind of worked, some trackes didnt stick down too well.. i was using
an iron to press and heat the layout over to the board,

people have used a laminator to do this job, and apparantly get excelent
results every time, stands to reason, uniform heat and pressure every time,

so, i'm searching ebay for a laminator, anyone done this kind of pcb making
before??

is there a particular laminator that's better than the rest for use as a
transfer pcb etch mask machine??

obviousely i need one that has a straight run through the machine, is
variable heat needed, variable roller speed.. or can i just put it through
the machine twice to be sure it's worked if i cant slow the roller speed
down.

i'm trying to keep costs down here, hence i'm making the pcb's at home in
the first place, so i dont want to be told to go and buy an XXXXX brand
proffesional laminator.. only 3000 quid a pop,
 
P

Philip A. Marshall

Jan 1, 1970
0
i'm getting into pcb making, i'm trying to be a skinflint and use one of the
many methods of transfering the etching mask to the board using a laser
printed layout, onto a piece of photo paper (hell of a lot cheaper than that
pcb transfer paper)

had a go last night using some bog standard photo paper i had laying about,
and it kind of worked, some trackes didnt stick down too well.. i was using
an iron to press and heat the layout over to the board,

people have used a laminator to do this job, and apparantly get excelent
results every time, stands to reason, uniform heat and pressure every time,

so, i'm searching ebay for a laminator, anyone done this kind of pcb making
before??

is there a particular laminator that's better than the rest for use as a
transfer pcb etch mask machine??

obviousely i need one that has a straight run through the machine, is
variable heat needed, variable roller speed.. or can i just put it through
the machine twice to be sure it's worked if i cant slow the roller speed
down.

i'm trying to keep costs down here, hence i'm making the pcb's at home in
the first place, so i dont want to be told to go and buy an XXXXX brand
proffesional laminator.. only 3000 quid a pop,

have you tried laser printable transparencies? you should be able to
use those without much trouble, my friend made a board that way. you
might have to touch up one or two pads with a sharpie, but overall it
came out quite nicely. I only found out recently about the photo
paper technique, so unfortunately i can't compare the methods for you.
If you try both though, let us know how it goes!
 
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