hi
i have tried this with the plotter.
i do disagree with the guys saying it will work with the staedtler 313 or
318 red.
the line with, especially the continuity of the with over the whole line
lenght is not suficcient.
the edges get awful (even if you stabilize the pen to stop wobbling when
speeding up).
i also can't agree with them saying the ink is not sold seperately.
here in austria i got it simply at the store.
it is red ohp marker refill from staedtler, it is expensive.
it has a special "docking" port on the lid to put in the pen.
then it sucks up the ink through the tip.
the new staedtler ink is "dry proof" they give you 12 days (or hours?) to
leave your pens open (if you forget to put the lid on) and they still work.
but still it is a good resist.
the staedtler lumocolor red ink actually sold is a VERY GOOD RESIST for HCL
H2O2 etch.
even not the edding 3000 which once was sold as "resist standard pen" in
"draw it by hand" days is so good.
i also did the plotting:
i have a hp7475a pen plotter standing besides me.
i have bought carbide tip pens (0,18mm X grooved, 2 x 0,25mm, and a lot of
wider ones).
i bought them from ebay for cheap.
that are only "replacement tips" to screw in a reuseable pen.
but they contain anything (the small needle in the middle, the spring etc)
and they can be put in a homebrew holder.
if you put in the staedtler ink with a syringe from the top a few drops
easily last for a pcb.
THE PROBLEM WITH PLOTTING:
I simply can't get a good hpgl file which makes what i want.
Best i get is a file where the pads and tracks are correct but the drill
holes are not kept open.
i can only get that from my orcad pcb software.
so using ready layouts from the web or for friends who use other software is
impossible.
what i would need is a programme which can convert pcl or post script to
hpgl(1).
i didn't fine one that works.
it is no good to convert raster images to hpgl, i know no tool which makes
that good looking.
floor polish in plotter pen would work, also standard water based laquer
(which would give you bright color to see on pcb).
but i have staedtler ink and it is fine.
if you can make a solution of colophonium which is stable (and doesn't allow
the colophonium to settle down a thick sticky film on the bottom) you can
plot with colophonium to the pcb.
it is a good resist (tested in HCL H2O2) and a good flux as you know.
what you would get:
a pcb which can be soldered immediately after drilling, no flux removing.
also it can be left on it to protect against oxygen.
i can't manage to get colophonium to be so stable, i solved in ethanol. this
vaporizes and leaves the sticky colophonium clogging all.
i would REALLY APPRECIATE if any chemist may have a try on this, it can't be
too hard to find a solvent which is better.
(anyone knowing much about synthetic resin should also be able to make
colophonium a ink)
so you see, i have the most things..
that plotting would work fine but the software for hpgl1 is a mess.
anyone having eagle here and wanting to try plotting?
someone here (sorry for forgetting the name) was so kind to provide me with
a eagle plot file a time ago. (thanks again). it looked good, the drill holes
were clear also, but it was complicated (a lot of unnecessary lines).
but i would love to stay with orcad..... so i didn't try myself much using
eagle.
so i think you have some lines to read here, i forgot a lot of course.
please ask if you want to know more, i really tried the plotting also a
while (and it is my favourite now)..
regards
stefan
> Hi Stefan-
>
> I followed your work on this project with interest. I hoped it would
> work, but I agree with you completely that it was worth the effort.
>
> I have heard that there are "drafting pens" which used to be used on
> plotters. Has anyone tried one of those with floor polish?
> Incidentally there is a PCB resist ink made by Staedtler (see website
> below) but it needs a tungsten-carbide pen point to work.
>
> There is a summary (survey?)of a debate and experimentation with
> various pens (and some conflicting opinion) at:
>
> http://eeshop.unl.edu/pen.txt
>
> The Lumocolor 313 is commonly mentioned as a good PCB resist pen; I
> have used one with mixed results, but it is better than the Radio
> Shack resist pen (which is just a Sanford "Sharpie"). Anyway, I wonder
> if ink from the Lumocolor would work in an inkjet? According to the
> above information Lumocolor do not sell that ink (though someone was
> going to try to find it in Germany) so you would have to extract it
> >from a Lumocolor pen.
>
> In any event, thanks for all your work on this project.
>
> Grant
>
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