Making PCB's

[gogo2520]

Hello
  I have been making my on boards for about three or four years now but I ran into something different I wanted to try.
   I picked up a package of White TRF Foil. You know the stuff that is suppose to stick to toner. Thought I would try making a nice silk screen with that.
   Problem is I do not have a laminator so I tried to use a cloths iron instead. Didn't work, what happen is by the time the sheet got hot enough to stick it stuck to the board and not to the toner (strange) and not evenly.
                                      anyone try using this stuff
                                      any help would be appreciated
                                               Thank You
                                                 gogo  

[Hero999]

I've always used toner for the silk screen. To make it more scratch resistant I cover it with a layer of conformal coating.

[gogo2520]

Ya your right toner is pretty tough but the white stuff is suppose to stick to the toner and I am having problems with it to do that. I never used conformal coating hows that work? and what stuff would you recommend?
                            thanks in advance
                                  gogo

[Hero999]

In my experience, toner doesn't stick to the board that well and can be easily scratched off so it needs a protective layer i.e. a conformal coating.

Conformal coating is just a tough transparent lacquer which can be bought from RS Components and other similar shops.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=0569313

[gogo2520]

Hello Alex Tsekenis
     That is not fun having someone else make your board for you. come on were is the pride in doing that. I suppose if I needed a hundred boards or more for production then maybe but then if I were to produce something how would I save by having someone else make profit of my work. Besides I am just a hobbyist who enjoys a challenge.

                   gogo

[Hero999]

I haven't seen any manufacturer that can make a custom board in quantities of one or two for less than I can.

You mention iron-and-peel sheets; are you aware that you don't need and special paper? Many people swear by expensive proprietary papers or particular brand of photo paper but many don't realise that ordinary copier paper will work. My favourite paper is clay coated magazine paper because it's free and I've found it to be superior to copier paper.

[Alex Tsekenis]

Ah...do you think I have gone soft gogo?

Once you have built a dozen PCBs on your own, your priorities might change from pride#1 to repeatability and quality#1 which is still pride from a different viewpoint. The ideal would be to get professional quality at home but that requires a big investment in equipment and space.

What you say that you need 100s of PCBs to be cheaper is a misconception from my experience. There are companies that specialise in bulk orders and others in prototypes.

For example, a 18x10 cm board with 4 layers, plated-through vias, silver plating, black soldermask and white silkscreen on both sides with the smallest pitch being 0.2mm was about 25

[Hero999]

I don't buy any paper, I use old magazines for toner transfer, it doesn't matter whether it's printed on or not.

Once you've mastered the process it's pretty reliable.

Some people also have their own CNC machines.

I imagine that if you have a laminator and a CNC machine then making your own PCBs becomes very easy and convenient even for double sided PCBs.

I like to use SMT components because they save drilling.

That's 25

[Alex Tsekenis]

Hi Hero,

25

[Hero999]

Hi Hero,

25

[Alex Tsekenis]

Hi Hero,

Some people have build their own CNC machines.

Too poor for any real PCB contouring in my opinion. But great for drilling afterwards.

Yes that's it, no unfortunately I don't have a link that specifically refers to magazine paper.

I found a great page that shows the capabilitities of this method using magazine paper and a laminator.

http://myweb.cableone.net/wheedal/pcb.htm

The 25

[Hero999]

The 25

[Alex Tsekenis]

Oh that's not good.  To whom?

[Hero999]

I think that the English spellings of some words is stupid, but if I suddenly started spelling every word phonetically, I'd get accused of being mentally challenged.