Nice idea.
A similar method is used to gold plate samples for old electron microscopes.
I've noticed a conductive metal deposit in plastic cases near the
point of (arcing) failure of the electronics inside.
Usually this is called vacuum deposition, but apparently the vacuum is
not strictly necessary if the plasma from an arc is used.
ST
On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 4:54 AM, Jeff <jeff.heiss@...> wrote:
> A friend descried to me a method for plating through holes. The plating is accomplished by inserting a wire into the hole and applying a high voltage to the wire, exploding it and connecting the layers together. A pdf is available on google. It was too big for yahoo. Despite the questionable looking address, it is real.
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> https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9UJMWQidYN0ZE1yNWEzQmluSWc
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> Curt's description
> It involves feeding a thin copper wire through the hole until it touches a massive ground plate which allows a capacitor charged to 300 - 400 volts to discharge and literally melt the wire rapidly enough to cause it to 'explode' and bond to the internal copper layers. I find that 10 to 15 bursts leave enough copper for a sturdy through hole. I use an X Y table to position the board under a chuck that grips the wire and is connected to the high voltage source. A small stepper motor feeds the wire through the chuck from a spool.
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> Jeff
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> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBsYahoo! Groups Links
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