gnupic: PCB blues - any suggestions?
Subject:
PCB blues - any suggestions?
From:
David McNab ####@####.####
Date:
30 May 2005 15:15:49 +0100
Message-Id: <429B200B.2060907@rebirthing.co.nz>
Hi all,
Thanks to all who replied to my earlier post re PCB art transfer.
I've made at least 12 attempts today, to transfer the artwork onto the
copper, with no success.
Artwork is at http://www.freenet.org.nz/pcb-bottom.ps.gz, in case
anyone's interested. Board is 65mm square, and the tracks are 18mil.
With each attempt, I've tried different combinations of:
- transfer medium:
- blue transfer film
- 170gsm inkjet gloss photo paper
- heat of iron
- ranging between 110-130degC (220-250 degF)
- duration of heat
- 3-25 minutes
- removal of transfer medium
- peeling slowly/gently
- soaking in water and peeling/rubbing
- with and without a sheet of aluminium (from a
soft drink can) under the iron
Printer I'm using is an HP 2550L Color Laserjet.
Worst case is that whole areas of the board fail to transfer, and/or
entire pads and vias going MIA.
Best case is that all transfers ok, except for around 4 broken tracks
and 4-12mm missing from 2-3 other tracks.
Track size is 18mil - can't go much bigger because it would drastically
increase the number of unrouted connections.
Can anyone suggest what I might be doing wrong?
Should I buy photo-laminated boards, fluoro lamp, developer and try the
photo method?
Could it be that the HP Color Laserjet printer uses a toner not suitable
for PCB artwork transfer? Should I print onto plain paper, then photocopy?
I'm getting very tempted to give up on artwork transfer entirely, and
use Eagle to create standardised veroboard (strip board) layouts - an
option supported by:
- perfect holes are already in place
- I got a hand-drill kit with a zillion cutting/shaping bits, that
can very quickly make the required track cuts, even erase whole
lengths of track, and drill any needed bigger holes
- time needed to cut/strip/solder the top-side connecting wires is
recouped by the time saved from not needing to etch or drill
Sorry to have rambled on for so long. Anyone got any thoughts on all this?
--
Cheers
David
