Luc - I wanted to really thank you for this post. I've been trying to
do toner transfers for .. well .. forever. Never got anything even
vaguely useful.
I am writing this with the first board that's ever been viable for me.
Very good, in fact!
I used the same GBC Creative laminator. I have been trying to get a
Laserjet 1020 but simply surrendered. However, I do have an old 3015
all-in-one that uses the same 12A cartridge as the 1020 - and it
worked great. I wonder if it's more in the cartridge than the printer
per se. I would guess that all printers that use the same cartridge
must have to heat the toner the same amount for optimal results,
though I also guess the more density, the better.
The real trick is the paper, I now understand. In my case, advertising
pages from Australian Aviation worked very well. The magazine is so
irritating to read with the glossy pages, but it makes great toner
transfer paper! :^)
I also realise now that a big secret is to make sure the board cools
before you soak off the paper, and to use lukewarm water at the
warmest. Too warm and it seems to soften the toner.
I lost a few pads on my board, but that's just because they were too
fine (10 though doughnuts). Not a single broken (or even thin) trace
otherwise. I fattened the pads up, and I'll have another crack later
this evening.
And you're right - the toner that does transfer sets like a rock!
Again - THANK YOU!
Phil
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Luc Small" <luc.small@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> Chilliismyweakness: I used the following model:
>
> GBC Creative Laminator
>
> It is available from Dick Smith Electronics, catalogue number F1424,
$40:
>
>
http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/488e64bf03cce6be2741c0a87f9c076c/Product/View/F1424
>
> I've also seen it at an Australia Post Shop for ~$44.
>
> I am pretty happy with the results I am getting from it. It works very
> well with the Open Road paper, but doesn't seem to work at all with
> the Press'n'Peel film. I don't think enough heat gets through the
> thicker Press'n'Peel film to properly bond the toner to the board.
> However, I can't see much need to use the more expensive film when the
> Open Road is free and works just as well for me.
>
> One of its virtues is that it can handle 1.6mm FR4 board without
> modification. I think the rollers have some give (perhaps they are
> spring loaded), and can therefore adapt to the board's thickness. I
> found that feeding the board on a slight angle worked best, i.e. so
> that one corner contacts with the rollers first. Feeding it in this
> way, the board never got stuck. Feeding it in parallel to the rollers
> occasionally caused the rollers to jam.
>
> I still think it would be nice to modify the laminator at some point
> so it can fuse boards in a single pass. I think these things use a low
> speed AC motor running at a fixed speed. I think I might eventually
> turf this motor, and put a little DC motor, gearbox and a speed
> controller in its place. But that project is some time off - for the
> moment I'll just stick to feeding the board through ~8 times or so.
>
>
> Myc: Thanks for the tip vis Avery and Dennison labels. My first
> thought was Kapton tape since I have a couple of rolls of the stuff
> lying around and I can't even melt it with the tip of my soldering
> iron. However, I'd does seem kind of wasteful and expensive to use
> such 'fancy tape' for making PCBs. Will give the labels a go.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Luc
>