Home Etch Aussie Style

[synnie]

After looking through the posts and different methods people are using im looking at maybe using the toner method.Instead of racing out and buying a laser printer ill use the photocopier at work.Questions now.What kind of paper is best to use with a copier or will the standard copier paper work?
Etching tanks? commercial or a home made one? Does it need a heater and bubbler/pump?
Main thing is can Aussie members let me know what they use and where to get the best deals.Not sure which stuff we can buy in Aussie.Looking through this page http://www.fullnet.com/~tomg/gooteepc.htm i could use a kitty litter tray or such without to much of a drama and agitate by hand.
Thanks Synnie

[toodle_pipsky]

Hey hey. I had a crack at home etching recently. A visit to Jaycar and Bunnings and got everything I need. I did try the blue transfer paper and it worked great (worked perfect first time every time), trouble is it's $35 odd for like 5 sheets. Ouch! I found glossy magazine pages work just as good . . . . and it's a lot cheaper!

My little setup is ferric chloride from Jaycar, rubber gloves and buckets/container from Bunnings. I just agitate by hand (I shake my fist at it and call it names . . . boom ching).

[synnie]

LOL...Thanks Toodles, now the glossy magazines?????????? assuming you just print onto them with copier or laser printer?We have a heap of glossy photo paper here somewhere, or might be just normal glossy paper...have to find it...from back in the days when we used to print our own photos before Hardly Normal could do it cheaper...have to find it.And i was in Newcastle yetserday too, was going to pop into Jaycar and browse but got sidetracked (isnt often im allowed to drive our car by myself and the hoon kinda slips out)
Thanks Synnnie

[toodle_pipsky]

Hehehehehe hoon. I think it's all in the glossy-ness and it's thin enough for good heat transfer. The mag print doesn't transfer, something to do with the way the mag's printed. I just used an old Blitz mag my other half had (it's a martial arts magazine - at least he doesn't have a Steven Segal pony tail . . . ).

If your paper is glossy and thin, go ahead and give it a bash. Good luck!

[mrpackethead]

I bought 100 sheets of press'n'peel directly from the manufacturer in the US and split it up with a bunch of people. It ended up being a whole lot less than jaycar.. if i remember rightly less than $1 per sheet.

[synnie]

How do you print to the press and peel sheets, laser printer?

[mrpackethead]

How do you print to the press and peel sheets, laser printer?

Yes.. And this bit is the bit that causes the trouble.. Not all Laser printers are created equal. And more to the point not all laser toner is created equal. I have several laser printers around the place and only have sucess with one of them. ( Its an old OKI printer ).. I have a brother laser and while its a good printer for everyting else, its not good for toner transfer.

A couple of people around here have come to use my printer for toner transfer simply because this one works and others dont!

Theres another thing that you really need to take note of. If you can find out what temperture your laser printer's heater is set to, and then set your iron to be the same temperture. Not all laser printers are set the same. I borrowed an infrared Temperture guage from work to measure mine, but you could use a thermocouple as well. Once you have worked out where the temp is, just mark it for next time.. Never just trust the guage of the iron, they are quite inaccurate!

Too hot an iron, results in smuggy and odd transfers, too cold results in incomplete melt and blotchy..

Anyway my five cents worth.. However most of what i do now is factory made boards, because home etch is just too slow these days. and time is my most valuable commodity.

[synnie]

I hear you on the time bit, but its going to be a one off board when i get the design done so im prepared to do a bit of mucking around.Is why i would probably use works photocopier....less outlay to trial with.
Ta Graeme:)

[mrpackethead]

I hear you on the time bit, but its going to be a one off board when i get the design done so im prepared to do a bit of mucking around.Is why i would probably use works photocopier....less outlay to trial with.
Ta Graeme:)

Other thing is that i'm now mostly doing designs that involve tight pitched surface mount kit. That generally means double sided through hole plated boards, solder masks and the like.. While it is possible to do all of that at home, it woudlu be hard work.

[jpb]

I use the blue paper and etchant from Jaycar.

I first print my design onto normal paper and then cut a piece of the blue stuff slightly bigger and carefuuly sticky tape it over the image on the nomal paper, ensuring the sticky tape is not over the image. I then print it again and as long as I haven't rotated the paper, the image now prints onto the blue paper. Make sure the sticky tape is on the leading edge as it goes into the printer. This way I am using minmal blue paper.

I use my wifes iron on the wool setting, this just below the temp where the steam kicks in. I iron for around 4 minutes. I have found that if I iron to long the blue stuff start to transfer as well and needs to be scraped off before etching.

I have etched a few home designed boards now and they are always on the small side (a bit larger than SSROZ etc.) and they fit into a rectangular fried rice container ( good excuse to have Chinese ). The etching solution needs to be hot to work well so I put this container (with hot solution and board and the lid on ) inside a larger container that I also fill with hot water. As this water cools down I can replace it with more hot water which in turn keeps the solution hot. I agitate by hand every few minutes.

Make sure you really clean them before soldering otherwise you may have trouble with solder not taking to the board. I clean the mask off with steel wool and running water and then use very fine sand paper to make the copper as bright as bright just before soldering. Don't get too enthusiastic here or you start to effect the current carrying capabilities of the track.

I am no expert and my boards look home made (ie: rough) but with more practise I am sure they will improve. I am blown away by the quality of the SSR Neon boards by ukewarrior. Next I am going to try using the blue paper to print onto the componant side as well, just to have a go.

Jon

[scorpia]

jpb,

you have almost described my etching to a tee. i print once then reprint with the press and peel stickytaped to the paper.

and the rest sounds about right as well.
the press and peel seems to work well every time. but yes it isnt cheap. maybe we should do a group buy from the US like MPH did.

Peter

[Matt_Edwards]

I second Scorpia's comment, jbp method was pretty accurate. You end up with heaps of small offcuts. last lot I purchased was 10 sheets from ebay for about $1.2 per sheet.

Since upgrading to Altium, I find printing a panel is so easy so if they will fit on A4, I make a panel.

Last time I used Press and Peal, I left the Iron sitting on the transfer. this is not recommended, you get buble where the steam hole are. I might try a thin AL plate next time.

Cheers
Matt

[synnie]

Looking for the Press'N'Peel from the states its about $1.90(includes postage and convert to AUD) per sheet for a pack of 100.Unless someone finds another supplier. http://www.techniks.com/information.htm I have found the glossy photo paper so when im ready to whack one out ill try it.Any of our American associates have a good source for Press'N'Peel?
have read somewhere that one person put theirs between 2 pieces of glass and put in the oven...different i guess...it wasnt on DIYC i read it though

[mrpackethead]

Looking for the Press'N'Peel from the states its about $1.90(includes postage and convert to AUD) per sheet for a pack of 100.Unless someone finds another supplier. http://www.techniks.com/information.htm I have found the glossy photo paper so when im ready to whack one out ill try it.Any of our American associates have a good source for Press'N'Peel?
have read somewhere that one person put theirs between 2 pieces of glass and put in the oven...different i guess...it wasnt on DIYC i read it though

Ekk, used to be cheaper than that, i'm sure..

I'd love to know what the blue stuff is.. It looks like its been brushed on if you ask me.. I bet whatever it is, that it's really cheap! Maybe a google of 'what is press'n'peel made from.

[synnie]

I only found one site which had the P'N'P Blue or Wet and my head isnt really up to going through websites atm...lol