Homebrew PCBs

Saw this initially on New Scientist Tech:
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11632-modified-ink-printer-churns-out-electronic-circuits.html
Direct inkjet printing with silver nitrate and vit C.
Very very cool.

Fred

On Apr 20, 2007, at 2:38 PM, Frederick Garbrecht wrote:

Saw this initially on New Scientist Tech:
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11632-modified-ink-printer- 
churns-out-electronic-circuits.html
Direct inkjet printing with silver nitrate and vit C.
Very very cool.

Fred


000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
I read this article as Fred suggested.
I wondered if this approach would work with tin nitrate as well.
Or perhaps a combination of silver nitrate and tin nitrate.
Perhaps printing on some substance that did not melt at the melting
point of tin or silver.  Then heat the surface to reflow and maybe form
an alloy.  Maybe with a laser ?
Any ideas out there ?

Silver   Melting Point: 961.93 °C (1235.08 °K, 1763.474 °F)
Tin — Melting Point: 231.9 °C (505.05 °K, 449.41998 °F)
Silver solder is alloy of silver and tin
Silver and Tin nitrate are water soluble


Gus

On 20/04/07, Gokoko - <gsc@...> wrote:
>
> On Apr 20, 2007, at 2:38 PM, Frederick Garbrecht wrote:
>
> Saw this initially on New Scientist Tech:
> http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11632-modified-ink-printer-
> churns-out-electronic-circuits.html
> Direct inkjet printing with silver nitrate and vit C.
> Very very cool.

made me wonder if I changed my process, plotting a resist onto copper,
if I changed the pen for a pen filled with a conductive ink/paint,
would remove the need for acid.

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Lez <lez.briddon@...> wrote:
> On 20/04/07, Gokoko - <gsc@...> wrote:
> > On Apr 20, 2007, at 2:38 PM, Frederick Garbrecht wrote:
> > Saw this initially on New Scientist Tech:
> >
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11632-modified-ink-printer-churns-out-electronic-circuits.html
> > Direct inkjet printing with silver nitrate and vit C.
> > Very very cool.
> made me wonder if I changed my process, plotting a resist onto copper,
> if I changed the pen for a pen filled with a conductive ink/paint,
> would remove the need for acid.

Perhaps you could make the traces, and then electroplate a better
conductor (copper, etc.) to make more robust and more conductive
traces.  Of course, you'd have to have connectivity to all traces to
do so.

Or maybe there's a catalytic chemical process to deposit a thicker
layer of a metal wherever the silver is?  Kind of like a 'super'
Tinnit?  That would be a pretty nifty way to make a board.

--marco