Homebrew PCBs

Short version: With a little rewiring, this 150C $20 laminator
*              looks like it will be good for ~115C lamination of
*              Riston negative photoresist film onto copper-clad
*              boards.  It has spring-loaded silicone rubber
*              rollers and with another simple mod, works OK with
*              1.6mm FR4 material.


Yesterday I found this illustrated article:

* http://ultrakeet.com.au/index.php?id=article&name=superFuserV2

depicting a seriously inexpensive Lowell L00L280 laminator:

*
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Office-Supplies/Presentation/Laminating-Machines/Pouch-Laminating/LOOL280


for AUD$19.47 from Officeworks in Australia.  I guess identical
laminators are available in other countries, perhaps by different names.

The article shows how to modify the laminator to make it hotter, for the
purpose of making PCBs with toner transfer.

Here I discuss my plan (implemented as I wrote it) to make it run cooler
for the purpose of laminating Riston or similar negative photoresist
onto FR4 board.  I will only be able to test it in a few weeks time when
I get some A5 sheets of Riston MM540 film from:

* http://www.ebay.com/sch/gaminn/m.html

The laminator moves the material very slowly - about 4mm a second.

There's a strip of galvanized steel at the exit side which needs to be
removed in order that the 1.6mm material board won't hit it.  The two
rollers are spring-loaded and the laminator is perfectly happy with
1.6mm PCB material going through it.

The rollers primarily spring apart, though they may also bend a little.
 Both rollers seem to be some kind of high-temperature silicone rubber
with a presumably steel core.

The rollers are not directly heated, but are largely surrounded by two
aluminium extrusions which contain heating elements.  I wouldn't rely on
the rollers themselves to fully heat the FR4 material, so I plan to
preheat the FR4 to 80C, 100C or whatever before putting it through the
laminator.

Riston MM540 lamination involves temperatures of 105C to 120C, with 115C
recommended:

*
http://www2.dupont.com/Imaging_Materials/en_US/assets/downloads/datasheets/mm500series.pdf


I don't have an easy way of testing the temperature of this laminator,
but I think it is too hot.

There are two thermostats.  The heating elements are in series and are
driven by diodes so the positive half of the mains cycle goes to the
heater when the right thermostat (red and yellow wires, 150C) is on and
the negative half goes to the heater when the left thermostat (black and
yellow wires, 125C) is on.  So the heater runs at full power to warm the
extrusions up to 125C, and then runs intermittently at half power to
maintain a temperature of about 150C.  When the right (150C) thermostat
turns off, the orange READY LED goes on.

So I think this is a 150C laminator.  The ultrakeet team install a 160C
thermostat in place of the *left* (160C) thermostat.  This is the right
on on their photos.  So I think they are cranking the temperature only
marginally to 160C, with the READY LED going on once it reaches 150C.

I could replace both thermostats, or not bother with the fast warm-up
one and concentrate only on the right thermostat.  For now, I have
pulled off the black wire (left thermostat, 125C) and the red wire
(right thermostat, 150C) which also drives the READY LED.  I put the red
wire where the black one was (on the left thermostat, 125C) and now the
machine should run at about 125C, with a longer warm-up time, and with
the READY LED turning on once this 125C thermostat turns off.

Previously, a drop of water would boil away in a few seconds, with lots
of noise, on the top extrusion.  Now, the drop sits there for a moment,
starts bubbling and takes 30 seconds to boil away gently.

I don't have a thermometer, but I reckon this is in the range of
temperatures suitable for Riston.

I imagine that the actual temperature of the lamination process could be
fine-tuned by what temperature the board was preheated to.

I haven't reassembled the laminator, but I think the plastic case will
not present any obstacles to passing 1.6mm FR4 material.

 - Robin   Melbourne, Australia

http://www.firstpr.com.au/rwi/dfish/

I am trying to find alternative sources of this laminator - particularly
sources for people located outside Australia.  I found another brand
with the same model, and with the same model with different appearances.
 This other brand is available to customers in the USA.


This particular Lowell LOOL280 laminator (safety approval date August
2011) only seems to be available from Officeworks.com.au - and their
shopping cart only handles Australian delivery destinations.  I wrote to
them asking whether someone from overseas can order from them.

*
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Office-Supplies/Presentation/Laminating-Machines/Pouch-Laminating/LOOL280

Lowell is apparently a brand-name specific to Officeworks.  There is a
similar looking A3 model which presumably has the same spring-loaded
rollers and the same thermostat arrangement:

*
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Office-Supplies/Presentation/Laminating-Machines/Pouch-Laminating/LOOL380


I found another version of the A3 model:

*
http://www.royalsovereign.com.au/office-products-1/pouch-laminators/cs-1223-photo-document-laminator.html

The LOOL280, LOOL380 and this RS (Royal Sovereign) CS-1223 all have the
same styling - a black case, with a shiny area in the middle of the top,
which has two curves facing each other for its top and bottom edges.
There is a three position power switch (Cold, Off, Hot) on the right,
and two LEDs on the right: Ready and Power.

This is from a Sydney-based company, for AUD$89.   This is the CS-1223BP
or CS-1223.  However, this site doesn't have a shopping cart and it is
not clear where to get one from.  Royal Sovereign is based in Rockleigh
New Jersey.  Their branches in various countries are listed:

*  http://www.royalsovereign.com/main.php

Searching for CS-1223 reveals this number is used for laminators which
look different in some ways:

*
http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Sovereign-12-Inch-Laminator-CS-1223/dp/B008587LZG/

This has a white, grey (or black) and white case, with two switches at
the front right.  The Ready and Power LEDs are in the same position.   I
think it is likely that this uses the same spring-loaded roller
arrangement as the LOOL280.  The black case and single switch couldn't
be any cheaper - and they are are able to sell it at AUD$20, including
10% GST.

Another clue that the mechanisms are the same is that of the three
photos at:

*
http://www.royalsovereign.com.au/office-products-1/pouch-laminators/cs-1223-photo-document-laminator.html

two are for the white-grey-white model and one is for the black.  The
white ones seem to be the same as another A3 laminator:

*
http://www.royalsovereign.com.au/office-products-1/pouch-laminators/es-1223.html

Now the hunt picks up pace!

The black versions in Australia - CS-923 and CS-1223.  The PDF was
created in September 2011.

*  http://www.royalsovereign.com.au/media/downloads/136/CS-923,1223.pdf

This shows the A4 and A3 models ES-923 and ES-1223:

*
http://royalsovereign.en.made-in-china.com/product/IbwEJvfBhaYs/China-Budget-Pouch-Laminator-ES-923-1223-.html

This page indicates they are made in Shandong, China:

*  http://www.officesuppliesplaza.com/Pouch-Laminator-30087997/

Here is the Australian Royal Sovereign outfit selling the A3 model
(black case) on eBay, for AUD$99.  However, they only offer shipping to
Australia.

*  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/261028789382
*  http://myworld.ebay.com.au/rs.aust

Here is the A4 (9 inch) version in white-grey-white at the US and
Chinese Royal Sovereign sites, but there's nowhere to buy it:

*
http://www.royalsovereign.com/office-products/pouch-laminators/cs-923-9-photo-document-laminator.html

*  http://www.royalsovereign.cn/office-products-4/laminators/cs-923.html

Here is where the A4 model can be purchased, for USD$49.99, with
shipping only to the USA:

*  http://www.royalfulfillmentcorp.com/StoreBox/pouchlaminators/cs-923.htm

Here it is at Amazon for USD$31.73:

*
http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Sovereign-9-Inch-Laminator-CS-923/dp/B008587M1Y/

However they won't ship to Australia, so this is probably for the USA only.

  - Robin

> I am trying to find alternative sources of this laminator - particularly
sources for
> people located outside Australia.  I found another brand with the same
model,
> and with the same model with different appearances.
>  This other brand is available to customers in the USA.


The main reason they won't ship (either direction) is Australia is 240v, and
the USA is 110v.  (Another is the USA changes a $9 fee to examine incoming
parcels, many people just said 'huh, screw that, no USA sales'.)

That said the mechanics would be the same, only the heating element would be
different.

Tony

> 
> The main reason they won't ship (either direction) is Australia is 240v, and
> the USA is 110v.  (Another is the USA changes a $9 fee to examine incoming
> parcels, many people just said 'huh, screw that, no USA sales'.)
> 
> That said the mechanics would be the same, only the heating element would be
> different.
> 
> Tony
>

The heating element would be easy enough to deal with, a triac based voltage converter similar to a light dimmer will work fine with that. They are sold as travel converters for heating appliances. A bigger issue is the motor, but depending on the type that might not be such a big problem. The cheap consumer laminators I've dealt with have had small synchronous clock motors, they are low enough power that a resistor in series to limit the current will work. It will run a bit slower on 50Hz, but when laminating toner transfers this is often desirable anyway.