MIke,
That isn't a bad idea at all - I have not tried it myself, but while
ironing some boards this weekend, I was thinking of something very
similar.
The presure is important in this process - and it must be even
presure which means there has to be something between the heat
source and the PCB to deal with any high spots so you get even
transfer. CUrrently I use a heavy duty paper towel for
this "padding".
Heat is another key element - I have been have good luck at 360
Degrees F for my paper. So the press would need to create the
proper amount of heat - evenly across it's platten.
When using the Iron, it is very easy to mess up in a couple of
areas....
1) Not getting a transfer where the steam holes are in the iron - I
usually press 10 seconds, move the iron, press another 10 second to
make sure I avoid the steam hole problem
2) No sideways movement when pressing. This is a problem when the
transfer paper slides sideways during the pressing and smears the
toner. Pushing straight down with a good amount of force is harder
than it seems.
3) Having to press several times because the iron is not big enough.
So, while pressing this weekend, I was thinking of the same thing, a
T-Shirt press for Iron on transfers. I expect that they are
expensive though. Making one mechanically should not be all that
difficult. The heating element is the big problem - you need even
heat across the whole surface and I have no idea how to make a
heating element :-(
So, in my opinion, you don't have a crazy idea!
Chris
--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "mikegw20" <mikegw20@h...>
wrote:
>
> Helo all.
>
> I just had a few random thoughts about toner transfer and I
wondered if
> anyone has tried them. I am using an iron with a good level of
success
> as the boards I am using are quite small. However, I read that
many
> people prefer the laminator to supply heat and pressure.
>
> So I was letting my mind wander with heat and pressure and the
thought
> about sandwich presses (obviously you would need a flat plate) and
> shirt iron presses (I am not sure of the proper name but the
things
> that iron a whole shirt in one pull of the handle)? The
disadvantage
> would be the size, but both would require no modification unlike
some
> laminators.
>
> Has anyone tried either of these two?
>
> Mike
>