Homebrew PCBs

Hi All,
  I'm getting started etching my own boards using laser toner transfer
onto inkjet photo paper as described around the web.  I prepared and
printed my artwork on Staples "photo basic gloss" paper. (Staples Item
#471861, UPC 7-18103-02856-1) with an HP Laserjet III.  I'm using
Ratshack double-sided copper-clad PCB, which I cut to size using the
bandsaw in my shop. I cleaned the board with both a brillo-style
sponge-pad and steel wool with soap, then rinsed it with rubbing
alcohol.  I cut the board artwork to size, taped it down at the edges,
and set it on a 2x6, placed a piece of "regular" printer paper on top,
then bore down with the iron for about 6 minutes, repositioning every
2 minutes to make sure none of the steam-holes interfered.

I soaked the board under running hot water for about 10 minutes.  It
puffed up a bit but remained stuck where the toner had been, which I
took as a good sign.  I tried soaking it in a bowl of hot water for
~20 minutes while I took a walk around the neighborhood, and returned,
to find it still stuck firmly in place.  I then tried to seperate the
layers of the paper with my fingernails, and successfully got some of
the thickness of the paper free.  I then started rubbing at what was
left with a fingernail, and got most of it free, leaving most of the
artwork.  A few traces pulled up, however.  I cleaned the board and
tried again with another -- same problem.

Can anyone suggest where I might have gone wrong?  I'm guessing
paper-choice might be an issue.  The traces were all 0.016" width, and
I'm pretty sure I ironed it enough to get the toner more or less
melted onto the copper.

Any assistance, thoughts, etc, would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Ryan Spicer.

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 04:11:45 +0200, alterscape2002  
<finitysedge@...> wrote:

> Hi All,
>   I'm getting started etching my own boards using laser toner transfer
> onto inkjet photo paper as described around the web.  I prepared and
> printed my artwork on Staples "photo basic gloss" paper. (Staples Item
> #471861, UPC 7-18103-02856-1) with an HP Laser....


You shouldn't use the bandsaw with glassfiber/epoxy board, it will be dull  
already.

6 minutes ironing sounds like a long time to me. Missing places could be  
 from improper cleaning, or the ironing.

I would get a laminator or fuser, the ironing process is very hard to  
debug and get repeatable, IMO.

You wrote you clean the board with soap and alcohol, what i would try is  
clean the board as follows:
Use 600 or 100 grit sandpaper, or fine steel wool, to lightly sand the  
board (dry). then wipe the dust off, put some alcohol on a paper towel and  
wipe the board, twice, using different spots on the towel.
I can assure you this works, so you should be able to exclude cleaning.  
I'm not sure about the soap, and if it is all removed.


ST

alterscape2002 wrote:
> Hi All,
>   I'm getting started etching my own boards using laser toner transfer
> onto inkjet photo paper as described around the web.
...
> artwork.  A few traces pulled up, however.  I cleaned the board and
> tried again with another -- same problem.
...
> Can anyone suggest where I might have gone wrong?

Refer my earlier post:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/message/9215

The clothes iron is a ticket to hell IMHO
I've never managed to get reproducible results.

Get a laminator or fuser. Period. I'm using an old secondhand hotplate
laminator, and getting good results.

As for paper removal, I've had better results gently peeling off the
paper in a slow curling motion while hot, rather than the
dissolving/rubbing/scratching. Also, peeling is way faster.

-- 
Cheers
David