Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Hello everyone,

New lister here, and new at PCB creation as well. I'm trying the TT
method as I was trying to get something out this weekend (well, I
almost succeeded ;)

Anyway, I wanted to recommend the Xerox XRX-LM1910 laminator now on
sale at Staples for $39 (that includes an additional $20 rebate). I
was going for cheap and, if possible, no mods. The GBC H200 is
discontinued and replaced by the H210, but no one has commented on
modifying it. I purchased an H210 today as well ($99) but based on
the performance of the Xerox, I may bring the GBC back tomorrow and
pocket the money.

Anyway, I ran 1/16" single-sided 1oz through the Xerox using a
"carrier" of laser printer paper folded in half. I used four passes
through the machine, temp set to max (275F) and laminator in "Foil"
mode. The PCB I'm using is rather thick for this unit, but it
swallowed what I gave it without many complaints. It's a little
tight going in the front and pops a little coming out. In the
future, I'll probably try 1/32" board instead and see how that
goes... I'm afraid that the thicker board will eventually kill the
laminator (motor, rollers, or whatever). Tonight, the boards were
small -- only 2"x4".

I decided to get the laminator after many inconsistent, smudgy
results using a plain clothes iron. I'll also recommend Pulsar's
TTS sheets.. they really make the job easier. But if you don't have
any, tonight I also tried using some Hammermill Color Laser Gloss
(Staples.. 300 sheets for $8) and got great results (though it has
to sit in water longer than the Pulsar stuff before it releases and
leaves a slight white residue that comes off with light rubbing and
water). Traces look good and I think it's ready to go straight into
the tank. My smallest traces are 10 mil (according to PCB), though
some text I printed on the board looks much smaller and came out
well.

I'll try to etch these test boards tomorrow.. too late to mess with
FeCL now..

Has anyone used a LaserJet 5P in TT process? Linux lets me crank
density up to 5, but I don't know if the printer is actually using
it. I could definately stand heavier density, but the results seem
pretty good as is. Tomorrow I'll try an old Okidata LED printer and
see if it does any better.

Eric