I reverse engineered the thermostat circuit in one of the laminators which was based on the Vf of 1N4148 diode as the temperature sensor. I made some small mods to the circuit to extend the range of the thermostat.
I managed to heat the rollers up to 210C (measured with a Pt100 RTD) and was just starting to get adhesion of the toner to the PCB, but at this point the silicone rubber sheath on the rollers just expanded and delaminated from the base rollers.
I did this to the laminator that had already got some roller damage and heat damage to the case, so I'm not too out of pocket (about GBP30). The plastic end parts of the housing would not have tolerated this sort of temperature for long anyway.
Does anyone know whether there are laminators that will work OK at about 230C or 240C without failing?
PS Does anyone in the UK want to buy a very nearly new unused Peak PP330 A3 laminator (not the guinea pig laminator above) at about half retail price? Details are here:
<
http://www.vivid-online.com/products/3222/55>
Dave
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Herbert E. Plett" <cachureos@...> wrote:
>
> 170 degrees is too low
> should be over 200, a good iron in linen position goes up to 240 and works well.
>
>
> --- On Wed, 3/23/11, David C. Partridge <david.partridge@...> wrote:
> > I printed the top and bottom layouts
> > onto glossy magazine paper on an HP LJ 4050, and they looked
> > just fine. I lined them up and taped them to the PCB,
> > and fed the sandwich through the laminator many times, but
> > the toner stayed firmly stuck to the paper with not the
> > slightest hint of sticking to the PCB. The toner is
> > standard HP 4127X, and the laminator is set to its highest
> > setting of about 170 degrees Celsius (just under 340F).
> >
> > What am I doing wrong?
> >
> > Thanks
> > Dave
>