--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Howard Payne <howard_g7lqy@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks to all that helped with this.
>
> What i did was get an old cloths iron and took out the thermostat and bolted
> it to the
> roller casing (same place where a fixed 120c thermostat was mounted) wired
> it up and
> set it to about 180c (my toner is HP black).
>
> Made a layout onto some inkjet colour paper, scrubbed some pcb with brillo
> pad, cleaned
> with some acetone, run the board through the laminator 5 times, let the
> board cool down
> and then soak in warm soapy water(some of the paper stuck between tracks)
> but rubbing
> with my thumb soon removed it!, and all the tracks stayed on, etched the
> board and it is perfect !!
>
> So i'am a very happy chap
> But i still think that i would like to use a temp control circuit, but then
> i would have to fit a
> transformer and psu for the temp control inside the laminator case.
>
> Thanks again to all
>
> Howard
> PS. anyone help with a good etchant ?
>
>
I found this on the Web and tried it for this first time last week.
It works GREAT!!!!
Fast at room temp and cheap.
Etchant:
I've found a new home-made etchant that I really, really like. And it's very cheap, and widely available. It's made by adding 1 part Muriatic Acid (the common kind that's sold in hardware stores, which is actually 28% Hydrochloric Acid) to 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide (the common 3% kind that's sold in drugstores and pharmacies). This etchant can etch a 1-oz board in about five minutes, at room temperature, with gentle mechanical agitation. And it's almost transparent. I mix it in a small plastic food-storage container and wear rubber gloves so I can use a balled-up paper towel to gently wipe the surfaces of the board, as it etches, which seems to speed up the etching time, considerably. (Caution: The concentrated acid's fumes would be very bad to breathe, or to have around metallic items. And the acid would be very bad to get onto anything that's not plastic.)
Bob