--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Viper62pr <viper62pr@...> wrote:
>
> Hello everyone.
> It's been a while since I've posted anything, I haven't been making my own boards because of all the chemicals but I keep reading the posts from the group.
>
> I saw a post on solder mask and always wondered how it was done, I saw the video linked by a post and today I ran into another one.
>
> On this page http://www.lpkfusa.com/boardfinish/promask-view.htm%c2%a0there is a link
> http://www.lpkfusa.com/video/promask.wvx%c2%a0to a solder mask windows media video.
>
> I wanted to buy one of their machines once but they are too high for my budget.
>
The lpkf machines and supplies are intended for prototyping use. That is why they are overpriced. For "prototyping" I am not meaning "hobby" or small volume stuff. "Prototyping" in the PCB industry means that maybe you want to make thousands of PCBs, but you need a single finished PCB, maybe right now, today or tomorrow, to assembly and test your design before spending money on the thousands of PCBs. However, that 24-hour finished PCB could cost dozens of times much that their normal price, but can save you too much money if you detect or want to change any issue before batch PCB making.
What you should get is real industrial soldermask for large batch making. It is around USD$70/kilogram.
And by the way, as someone stated, UV Leds are not used for UV curing or imaging of PCB processes. If you want to build a real-use UV photoimaging box, do not waste money on UV leds. Use blacklight fluorescent tubes. They are cheaper, and provide real results. In fact, they are used widely in PCB making (However, for fast batch use, there is no substitute for high power mercury arc lamps).