Making PCBs with magazine's paper

[billy]

Just use a good glossy paper, clean the copper surface VERY well and then apply a lot of heat and pressure for 5 minutes. Then let it soak in hot water AS LONG as it takes for the paper to come out.

For the etching tank you can check out the TupperTank in the recent projects section.

[wheedal]

What are the exact paper you used..??
do ya think any glossy paper will do..?? I recieved a lot of glossy catalogs from Analog Devices and Maxim do you think i will do the job??
Is there a plan yet for making an aquarium heater..I can't find it in our place..
Regards.

Good quality magazine/catalog paper is all I use.  I haven't used maxim datasheets before, but I believe it should work.  You look for paper that doesn't have a lot of loose recycled paper pulp content.  Also, the laminator really lends itself to consistant results --I had difficulty with a hand iron.

[billy]

I haven't tried magazine paper before and I think that I have to give it a try too. Is it necessary for the paper to be white, or it is ok to have printed stuff in it. Should I look for thin or thick glossy paper ? There are a lot of different qualities and thicknesses in magazines.

You are right about glossy papers, lots of useless pulp.What it is needed is less paper and more clay ('glue' in other words) that can easily come out when submerged in hot soapy water.

Actually the whole process is a kind of art, and all arts have secrets. It's up to us to find them out !!!!  

[wheedal]

No, actually I found that having a little bit of color actually helped release the paper better on the fine traces.  I look for a light color background because most of my boards are 2 sided and it's difficult to align the pages when you can't make out the crosshairs against a dark background.  Thin works great, haven't tried the magazine covers.  What you need is a quality publication -- most catalogs are recycled paper and have a kind of grainy surface.  You can tell by rubbing your thumb on a sample under water.  The recycled paper will particalize differently than the better quality one.  National geographic, TIME, 4 wheeler, geo world, sharper image catalog all work pretty well.  Also, its best if the paper hasent been handled before use (no collecting these from dentist waiting rooms!).

[Kasamiko]

National Geographic??? hmmm..sound interesting..
How about pages from Computer Gaming World??

[billy]

Great news ! I thought I could never buy this paper but I found this cheap way, only with 22 euros, shipping to Europe :

http://www.pic-board.com/partshop.html?BUTTON=Part+Shop

more details :

http://www.pic-board.com/hfiles/TECHNIK.htm

of course I bought 10 sheets without second thought ! Paid in 10 seconds via paypal

[billy]

This is my first effort to make a PCB using the press-n-peel sheets. The results for me are amazing ! Any comments

Will come back with full details, descriptions and tips if the forum demands so

[MP]

Billy, that is a very clean looking board from press-n-peel. I tried this method when it first came out and it was not very good. It appears that it is working much better than what it used to.
Nice board!

MP

[billy]

Dear MP, congratulations on your highest ranking in this forum !!!!

As far as press-n-peel is concerned, it is indeed very good but it is also a matter of experience on the ironing time and temperature. And of course the copper must be really clean and scratched on the surface in order for the toner to stick well. Another fact is that it does not always stick well near the pcb edges, so extra care is needed there. And finally there is no visual way to know when to stop ironing.

Sometime in the future when I have more time and money I will try the UV method too. But for hobby projects it is all right for now !

[gsmaster]

Billy where did you get the Press'n'Peel paper? Is there someone in Greece importing it?

[neo]

Hello all,
I have tried this method for all my projects. It works fine and you can forget about the costly screen printing method.

I made the PCB layout using Orcad-Layout and extensively used copper pour (this significantly reduces the time spent on etching). Since i didnt have a printer connected to my system I used Acrobat PDF Writer to print it into a PDF file at 300dpi resolution. Make sure you dont scale the print.

I took a high quality laser printout on a OHP (Transparent Overhead Projector) paper (a butter paper will also work).

Next clean the copper clad using an ink rubber so that it is shining. Place the printout over the clad and iron it for 5-10 minutes. in case youare using a plastic OHP sheet dont forget to place a paper (news paper will do) over it.

Once done, gradually cool the board from the OHP sheet side. Immediate cooling might disturbe the copper-substrate bond.

You will be left with the track. Put this into ferric chloride solution and agitate slowly (it increases the speed of etching).

Tadaaaaaa.you have a good quality PCB

[Dido]

Haha I`ve been using this method for making PCB`s for year and more.There are a little secrets for making these PCB`s.


First for me I`ve tried so many types of paper but I think that the best one is Ink Tec`s Premium photo paper.

The most important process is the ironing most of people say that the PCB should be ironed for 2 or 3 minutes at full temp. That`s not true because in most ot the photo papers there is around 40% of Polypropylen and Polyethilen when you fry the paper with such temperatures the plastic in the paper stick on the PCB and happens nothing the best temp for is 140 degrees.

Putting the board in water is a mistake because you will remove the paper harder than if you try removing it gentle when it`s dry.

If there are broken tracks you can fix them by redrawing them with a permanent ink or straight a permanent marker I use Schneider S303.
After that you can put it in the FeCl3 and etch it.

I know other methods for really fast etching for about 1.5~3 minute etching using electrolysis but I`m going to write a topic about that method Has someone ever experienced with that method?

   Hope I`ve helped you

[Trigger]

I hear someone using concentrated Sulphuric Acid to have fast etching of PCB .

Personally I haven't try because it is very corrosive.... very danger for diy..... so I prefer to wait for 15 minutes  

[Dido]

No I mean electrolysis

Here it is how it works

You get an old car battery you take the electrolyte then you mix 1 liter of the electrolyte with 300ml of distiled water (30%).Then you put the liquid in a tub you put the plus electrode to the copper which has to be eaten away and you use for a minus electrode a piece of I`m not really sure which is the best metal I`ve tried with lead but I think that the electrode should be made of Zinc I haven`t got zinc very much so I used Lead.After that you should have a really Powerful power supply because at 24Volts I measured 23.7 Amps and the power transistors of my Bench Top PSU got really hot I think I could have frien an egg on the radiator but after 3 minutes the copper was almost gone. Then you put the board in regular acid or FeCl3 for final eating away and that`s it.There other ways for making a board.For me I etch my boards with FeCl3 or Nitrogen Acid.

I prefer the ordinary way.