Larry
I got some AQ3000 in Feb of 2010. Genesis had it in quarts on Ebay and I paid about $81 with shipping. You may want to call them and see if they would put a quart up on Ebay buy it now.
At the time I attempted to sell part the quart in 4oz qty for my cost plus shipping -- got no takers.
I talked with one of the engineers at Genesis about the 6 month shelf life and he told me it was much better than that but for commercial uses had it set at 6 months. He wouldn't say how long it would last but I keep it in the refrigerator like I did the Shipley AZ111 I used years ago. It was still good after 10 years. I haven't used the AQ3000 lately, guess I should test it one of these days.
I spin coat it on boards then bake at 180F till hard. Use potassium or sodium carbonate to deveolope. I did find I needed to thin it a little with water to get a better spin coat. It's fairly sensitive and Zoltan was able to immage it with his direct UV laser writer with stunning resolution.
Just too many projects and not enought time or money.
Craig
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Larry Battraw <lbattraw@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I've been lurking on this list for some time and seen a lot of different
> takes on making PCBs, whether it's toner-transfer, direct-print via
> last/inkjet, or UV-exposed resist (And a few stranger ideas). One thing I
> have noticed is that it is sometimes difficult or impossible to obtain the
> raw materials for our projects. In some cases (Dry film resists) it either
> takes forever (2 weeks to over a 3 months!) to get some from Hong Kong or
> the Czech Republic (via eBay), or you have to buy a lot at one time (Think'n
> Tinker 100-foot rolls for example, at $150+ w/mandatory express shipping).
> There are exceptions, but finding them and having any idea of how "fresh"
> the film is (Which is important to get reasonable results) is problematic.
> A couple years ago a company called Genesis MT sold a great product by the
> name of AQ-3000 water-based photoresist. It worked very well, was very
> reasonable for the amount you got for the price, and was available via
> eBay. Recently I found they had been acquired by another "professional
> services"-type company that requires large, company purchases of anything
> (i.e. ask for a quote, and no way to buy electronically). It is now
> impossible to get any of this great resist, the only water-based photoresist
> around. I don't consider the VOC-based resists as viable for use due to
> health concerns.
>
> What I propose is that we as a group of hobbyists provide our own materials,
> where some of us will volunteer to be a source for a particular material, in
> this case photo-imaging materials. I know there has been a lot of
> experimentation with direct/transfer tech but for repeatable, high-quality
> boards you really can't beat photoresist-based boards. I'm sure some people
> will differ with me but I've read too much about problems with board
> coatings, pre/post-heating, different inks (Sometimes very expensive), and
> the challenges modifying inkjet printers to be very interested, especially
> after I ruined a perfectly good printer trying it myself :-)
>
> Naturally I am volunteering for the dry film photoresist, since I have
> already placed an order which should be here in a couple days. I'd like to
> do the same for the Genesis AQ3000, although I have to find out the minimum
> order quantity (Apparently they make up a fresh batch for each order) and
> available payment methods. I'd like to think that we can use enough of the
> purchased products to have them avoid going bad (Shelf life for AQ3000 is 6
> months, similar for dry-film). I would suggest charging actual cost plus a
> small surcharge to cover gas and time spent (Maybe $3.00 per order?). I
> want to make it possible for us to use high-quality products without a lot
> of delay or uncertainty/experimentation in regards to product quality. The
> cost would include cost of postage plus mailing materials (Padded envelope
> or plastic bottle+box for AQ3000). If it's popular enough, I could offer
> additional things like drill bits, PCB blanks, etc.
>
> I am certainly not adverse to having someone else take all the "business"
> from me, as the whole point of this exercise is to provide the materials at
> near-cost, quickly. However, since nobody else has suggested this (That I
> can remember) I figured I could at least start the process. I have to add
> some disclaimers here: I reserve the right to ship within 2-3 business days
> of a prepaid order, and if there are unusual restrictions on shipping items
> there (i.e. countries that have export regulations for the USA) I also will
> not even try to ship an order. Likewise, if I find out after the order has
> been placed it's going to be a lot of hassle to ship to I reserve the right
> to refuse/refund orders. Ditto for people who piss me off, sorry, I just
> won't work with people who can't be polite. If there are unusual
> circumstances like having a package refused and returned I also will charge
> a fee based on the time spent plus shipping/materials (Assuming the PCB
> materials can be re-used and are not damaged). And finally, I reserve the
> right to halt the service at any time, refunding any outstanding orders.
>
> This whole idea is an experiment in supply and demand and so I apologize for
> all the disclaimers. I don't want to be sued or even given a bad reputation
> because I had a package returned from Elbonia after being opened and
> damaged, and the person is upset.
>
> I apologize for the length of this email, but I'd like to gauge the interest
> levels (And potential orders) from people in the group and elsewhere.
> Please email me if you're interested, and what you would like to see
> offered. I would probably accept PayPal (Yes, they aren't wonderful but
> they're big and fairly reliable) for payment. Materials could either be
> ordered direct from me or I could post auctions on eBay, but I'm more
> interested in serving the community we have here rather than the entire
> world. I have a day job and this is just a way to benefit a group of
> like-minded people, so it can't be too much of a hassle or I will need to
> either put a stop to it or raise prices. It may be necessary to go the eBay
> route just to avoid having materials expire but I'd like to avoid it. Let
> me know!
>
>
> Kind regards-
> Larry Battraw
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>