Hi Chris,
Thanks for the comments and the suggestions.
This is my "spare" hackable R220 dedicated to the pcb project. My wife has
one that I've been using, at risk of death ;)
I've said that I want to crawl before I walk. At his point. I'm not
concerned with size of pcb, just getting a reliable method to direct print
on pcbs. I've got both CD thin and flexible copper that I can run through
the printer. Initially I'll only be making procedure trials on small
samples.
I'm filling the cartridges with test inks. I have the MIS ink coming in and
also have some local "Island Inkjet" ink to try.
One of the things that has not been discussed, is getting the artwork
printed in the correct ink. Generally, the pcb artwork prints in black. On a
dedicated printer the black cartridge can be replaced with the yellow ink.
Now the question is, whether the printing process for a black cartridge is
different than color printing with a yellow cartridge.
It is only a moot point at the present time. Since the board prep,
"priming", dry / cure conditions and etching conditions are still not
clearly defined.
Voltan's procedure has yet to be successfully and reliably repeated. We
have only heard from Voltan that it is do-able, but nothing about the
reliability. From Stefan's posts, his trials show a repeatability problem.
All in all, its going to be a fun project. I'll keep you posted. I'll
probably get back to work on my cnc pcb driller, during those "being really
frustrated and pissed off" breaks in the inkjet pcb project. :)
TANSTAAFL!
Myc
On 7/24/06, lcdpublishing <lcdpublishing@...> wrote:
>
> Mycroft,
>
> Be careful trying to run a PCB in on that tray, I jammed my printer
> up real bad trying that. I finally got it all back working normal
> again and won't be messing with that one anymore.
>
> The good news is (not only did I save the other printer) that I was
> in office depot this past weekend to get a USB cable and they had an
> R220 on the clearance rack for $37.00 - I snatched it up right quick!
>
> So, I now have two R220s - one designated for the PCB project.
>
> I highly recommend you start out by running your printer normally
> for a while. Print on some ordinary paper and watch all the sensors
> and such. Then print on a some CDs for a while, again, watching all
> the sensors and determining what "Changes" when the printer is
> printing on CDs as opposed to paper.
>
> Based on my observations so far, I really think the goal isn't to
> use the existing CD Printing features. Rather, I think it would be
> easier to work out a way to print the PCBs as if they were fed
> through the standard sheet feeder.
>
> If you try to treat the PCBs as "CDs", the printer is going to use
> it's "SPecial logic" and may constrain the printing only in the area
> where a CD is suppose to be. By working with the standard paper
> feeder's rear feed method, you should be able to print full size
> (8.5 X 11).
>
> I have not had a chance to tinker yet but I think there would be a
> couple of things that have to be done.
>
> 1) when you print CDs it appears as though the print head moves up -
> so this needs to be done for printing on PCBs. Yet, when this is
> done, you dont want the printer thinking it is being fed a CD to
> print on!
>
> 2) There is a slot in the back to allow the CD tray to pass through
> for printing. This is too narrow to allow a large PCB to pass
> through, So, Figure out how to widen that slot.
>
> 3) Determine what the printer senses to know paper is being fed and
> that there is paper in the printer. Something needs to be done to
> trick the printer into seeing sensors behave normally while feeding
> a PCB into the newly widened back slot.
>
> That's about all I have so far. It may be weeks, possibly months
> before I can get back into it so I will be watching your progress
> with much interest!
>
> Chris
>
>
>
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