Home-made PCB by use of a laser printer and an electric iron

[nerd77]

laser printer pcb

Has anybody heard about this way to make a PCB by simply ironing the layout from a laser printer to the plate?


here is a link to the developer of this method
**broken link removed**

and here it is discussed at a german electronics board
http://www.mikrocontroller.net/forum/read-6-40012.html

(see the pictures in this threads)


The critical point seem to be the paper, but the method itself seem to be easy and very cheap for rapid prototyping

 

[hcet]

homemade pcb

maybe this is interesting for you
h**p://www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/200006/oven_art.htm

 

[nerd77]

home made pcb

That one is even better:

**broken link removed**

 

[eltonjohn]

home made pcb printer

hello friends .. well that looks like a nice idea i tried it .but i can't say that i got good results ...i don't know if there is a particular laser ink that works better that other .But in may case it wouldn't trasnfer .
I even bought a couple of old irons to make a sandwich an be able to do double side ..had no luck . So i stopped messing with it !

 

[alphi]

homemade rapid prototyping

I think many engineers make some pcb in home,so ways of home-made pcb is very important for us,anyone have another home-made pcb ways?

 

[nerd77]

print pcb at home

@eltonjohn

The diffiult part seem to be the paper. It must be some kind of paper which does not picks up (assimilates) too much of the black toner of the laser. in both discussion threads it is the mostdifficult thing to identify the right type of paper. It has to be some kind of plated paper, not clear white one which is regulary used for photo copies.

(German thread: see at the beginning of the whole text). They use catalogue pages from "Reichelt" or "Conrad ElektroniK" Another one uses advertizing papers from his local super market - works also fine.

Probably someone else here in this forum has better results with the laser toner transfer method and want to share his experiences .....

 

[klug]

home pcb iron

Hi, nerd77

Probably someone else here in this forum has better results with the laser toner transfer method and want to share his experiences .....

Friends, do not invent bicycle - this discussions are very old here, some of them:




Seems, most interesting method:

Why do you want to use the Lazer printer to print negatives for exposure? You can make great boards, including doublesided using the lazer printed page itself as the etch resist. I have done it for long time, with excellent results. All you need is "Coated paper" i.e. for high resolution printing, some acetone and your etch, ferric chloride or hydrogen peroxide. Reason for coated paper is simple. It allows for better release of the toner on your copper board.

To use: Print your artwork. 600dpi resolution is more than enough.
For bottom copper no need to mirror artwork. For Top copper must mirror artwork. Clean Copper board with steelwool and rinse and dry. Take artwork placing printed surface face down on copper. Take some cotton wool and wet with acetone. Rub on back of printed artwork. Let acetone evaporate from the paper. Place board with printed artwork now stuck to board in warm water for some minutes. Peel of the paper and ther is your board ready for etching.

Reason for the acetone and not hot iron on, if you transfer the artwork with a hot clothes iron (Melting the toner onto the copper) the copper board expands with heat under the iron and leads to inconsistency especially if you make doublesided boards!

Whacko.

You see, there is all in Elektroda, you need only search correctly.

 

[rauol]

homemade laser etcher

:lol: I wasted lot of time on this idea and found the fallowing problems.
1: the toner does not always stick to the Clad.
2: it is difficult to control the pressure with an Iron.
3: if you have thick tracks the toner density is less at some points.

Can we use old pen plotters to directly plot on the copper clad and etch it

Can we use a flex laminate and print directly on it using a laser printer

 

[777*]

pcb laser printer iron

Hello, rauol

Yes, you can. The following links will show you how to do this.
http://www.qsl.net/ve2emm/pcb/pcbe.html
**broken link removed**

Regards

777*