Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Electrostatic toner transfer.

I'm disturbed by the lack of specificity on the web, so pardon
me if I go overboard trying to communicate what I did.

I wasn't getting anywhere with the problem of clay adhesion
from Staples Picture Paper, so I decided to try another.

I cut a page from Electronic Engineering Times Magazine.
I stuffed it into an HP Laserjet 4L with HP92274A standard
toner. I used the default printer settings.

The paper was too thin, so It got stuck in the printer prior to
fusing. I pulled it out and decided that this was a "sign" from
wherever signs come from.

Here's the stack for electrostatic transfer.
Insulation layer on the table.
Piece of aluminum foil for the negative electrode.
Paper with unfused toner image facing up.
Layer of copier paper .004" thick around the perimeter of the image.
Strip of aluminum foil for positive electrode.
Copper circuit board face down contacting the positive electrode.

The copier paper provides insulation and some spacing so the toner
doesn't get smeared.
I applied 1200VDC, the highest voltage I could generate on short notice,
to the electrodes. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. DEATH IS POSSIBLE!!!!!!

Then I removed the circuit board and set it on a hot plate at 250F.
I only wanted to get it "stuck" well enough to put on the scanner to
show the results. That's a TQFP64 chip. Many of the traces have
.005" space between them. This is my FIRST attempt.

I think there's some real promise here. Need more volts.

I have pictures of the setup and a scan of the toner on copper.

Anyone interested in a collaboration can email me for a link to them.
My website has a low bandwidth limit. What's the process to get
approval to post them to the yahoo group archive? It's only 180KB
at this point, but could easily get a LOT bigger.
Then there's the obvious question, "Does anyone care? Should I just
keep my ramblings to myself? Anyone wanna help?" Ok three questions.

I need to go buy a sheet of glass and build a higher voltage power supply.
I've had two portable photocopy machines sitting on the floor for almost a decade.
Perfect for high voltage parts, rollers etc. I threw them both away
two weeks ago. RATS!!!

Anybody ever tried to rectify the output of a stun gun? AC just ain't
gonna do it. Does make some impressive sizzling noises tho.

Suggestions appreciated.

mike