Hello Samson
I have also modified an E260d and am getting very good results. I didn't
modify the E260 to the extent that Mark did. I essentially removed all
paper handling parts (front and back) that just left direct access to
the paper platform. I also removed the fuser and removed the EXIT sensor
from the fuser and relocated the EXIT sensor about 1-2 inches past the
TR roller. I didn't remove (cut) the paper platform as there was enough
clearance for a 0.032 PCB + carrier. For 0.062 PCB's, I took a wood
chisel and shaved the small ridges from the paper platform and that gave
clearance for PCB + carrier thickness of over 0.1 inch. (The TR roller
needs to be removed to do this).
When printing to the PCB, The TR roll is set its design voltage and the
PC roll is set to the opposite polarity. This causes the charge on the
PCB/carrier to be somewhere in between. Depending on the amount of toner
being deposited, the PCB/carrier voltage will vary. I found if I connect
the PCB/carrier to ground, the printing is much more consistent. I now
use a 0.01 thick card stock paper 7 to 8 inches wide and 18 inches long
with the PCB taped in place and a small wire (#30 wire wrap wire)
soldered to the trailing edge of the PCB. This wire is soldered to a
small copper tape strip on the trailing edge of the carrier. A ground
wire attached to a paper clip is attached to this trailing edge copper
strip with part of the paper clip bent so it will not go through the
added traction roller. This causes an automatic ground disconnect as the
trailing edge of the PCB/carrier enters the printer. I solder the direct
connection because relying on a pressure connection (using a foil strip)
was not reliable. With this direct ground connection, the KY jell is not
required.
I wound up modifying TWO E260 printers. I didn't use the mcu for timing.
I left the input sensors where they were and relocated the EXIT sensor
behind the TR roll. When the PCB/carrier exits the printer, the
PCB/carrier must be removed with in a second or two or a paper jam light
will come on.
I packed everything up last month and took it to our Ham Radio club
meeting and made a presentation to the group. They were amazed at how
fast and how PERFECT the printed patterns were.
With the trace width/spacing this process can do, I had to improve my
etching process to match it!. ( see my posting with a subject line
"Muratic/Peroxide etch".
I will make another posting on this thread as to how to fuse the the
traces to the PCB without using any heat!
Jim KI6MZ
On 9/7/2010 5:03 PM, smgloser wrote:
> Hey Mark,
>
> I just wanted you and everyone else to know--you are AWESOME. Documentation is key to a lot of these projects, and your steps made the modifications a BREEZE. I bought the E260 a few months ago, and finally got around to modifying the printer! I just want everyone to know that if you're about to pull the trigger, just do it because the mod is very well documented and easy to do. The only thing I've got to comment on is that the software steps are off from your latest schematic and code, but I've figured that out. I'll probably be publishing code for the PIC12F series in a few days, which I'd imagine might be useful for some with dev toolchain setup.
>
> Once you get the process figured out for yourself, it really does only take<5 minutes per print before etchant. Tape the board, print, heat for 2 minutes at 400F (I use a griddle), and then a few passes through the laminator and you're golden. It's SO much easier than toner transfer, even with transfer paper, and the time savings is definitely worth it for me. You also don't need any serious MechE skills to do the mod, but you will have to get a few things off of McMaster Carr. I'll probably post a few part numbers--I think I found a cheaper version of that drive shaft which works fine.
>
> I've got to admit, I might be saying all of this somewhat early. I'm still optimizing the process at this point, and later I'm planning on working out the E&M and maybe getting control over however the printer adjusts the transfer voltage, which varies depending on substrate and other conditions.
>
> The prints are very very promising so far. I've been printing very large black areas, which I know is most difficult for laser printers, and I am getting pinholes, but much better than what I had with toner transfer. There's still some open areas, but that seems to be because I wasn't very careful with the lubricant spreading. After etching, though, it's very clear that the toner areas are far more solid than I've gotten with toner transfer--there's virtually no leakage through the resist.
>
> I've also tried to print onto metal substrates (specifically aluminum). It works with a few sheets of paper underneath the aluminum carrier, but I'm not sure why. Without them, you get very serious blotching in the image--I intend to work out the E&M calculations sometime in the near future to figure out what's going on. Maybe there's a more optimal stack, or I could try to change the transfer voltage.
>
> Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks--this method is AWESOME. Let me know how double sided is going--it does seem that the feeding configuration doesn't really lend itself to particularly accurate y-axis feeding, but it'd be awesome if double sided worked.
>
> Samson
>
>
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Mark Lerman<mlerman@...> wrote:
>> I am now working on producing ds boards. My first test was to see if
>> I can print multiple times on one side of a board with good
>> registration. If I can do that, I'm certain I can do the rest. I
>> added a reflective sensor to locate the actual position in the motion
>> (Y) axis. I could have used one of the leftover E260 interrupter type
>> sensors, but it was easier for me to use black tape an white labels
>> than to drill holes. In the final version, in the spirit of
>> recycling, I might use a leftover. There are some pictures of the
>> sensor and new mcu board on my pbase site<http://www.pbase.com/mark10970>.
>>
>> As I mentioned previously, when the carrier moves through the
>> printer, the leading edge first hits the moving transfer roller,
>> which pulls it up into the drum/transfer roller interface. This
>> causes a variable delay, which messes up the registration. The "fix"
>> is to wait till a couple of inches of carrier is completely through
>> the interface before starting the actual timing (timing starts when
>> pis is pulled low). I still have some work to do, but I'm pretty
>> sure I can get it to work I printed a test with 5 mil traces - it was
>> perfect in the Y axis, but about 5 mils off in the x axis. There is a
>> picture on my pbase site.
>>
>> One problem I foresee is how to tell whether the sides are registered
>> before etching. You can't see through the board before it is etched,
>> and you don't want to etch it without knowing it is correct.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>
>
>
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