I just made my first (single sided) board using my modified laser printer that deposits toner directly on the board. A few observations and questions: 1- I used the Eagle Demo2 board, but inserted four 2 mil traces between 2 of the dip pads, each connecting to one of 4 adjacent pads. These are 2 mil traces on 10 mil centers, with the traces on the sides being 7.5 mils from the pads. 2 - I used some of Dave's gel on the 1/32 inch thick board - will try without it later. 3 - I then ran the board through a laminator once - no carrier. 4- I etched using muriatic acid / peroxide, room temperature, a little agitation by hand rocking the board. The board came out okay, but there is some pitting that I am not happy with. All four 2 mil traces are intact, none of them are shorted. Questions: 1 - Should I have run the board through the laminator more than once? I bought the laminator at Staples, no model number on the box, but I believe it is one of those recommended on the laminator link. I'll have to measure the temperature sometime. Any other thoughts re the laminator? 2 - Would I be better off using an oven or hotplate to fuse the toner? I can control the temperature quite well, but will the toner fuse well without the pressure? 3 - What causes the pitting? Too long in the etchant? Toner not completely fused? All the traces and pads seem equally pitted, so I don't think it's the trace width. Lots of questions, but I realize that I am on somewhat uncharted territory here. It's going to take time and experimentation to work it all out, but I'm excited by the possibilities of this technique. Mark
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[Homebrew_PCBs] Direct Toner - First Try Results
2008-04-02 by Mark Lerman
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