that you should use to pick suitable bits. small dots in the center of your pads, making drilling easier. It has a very fine surface however, so I used it for my Dextrin coated paper. sometimes be difficult to tell. Use vias for jumper holes, and Fill a second tray with water and keep it handy. Just open it in Gimp and choose Tools, Transform Tools, Flip. Pulsar's instructions: Now this is the part where we play with the fun chemicals. Since you have only one layer, you just want Remove any rosin flux with alcohol, a fine brush & paper towel. 2022 printing from your PDF viewer. You are just removing any dextrin residue. with the light blue side down. (LogOut/ You will notice that there is a slight flaw in it at the top because I pulled the paper off at 5 minutes rather than waiting the full 10 minutes. (Yes, you should have done this first to save time, , Thanks Michael! paper cutter, tin snips, or strong kitchen shears. but you lose space between IC pins. the etching process, picking the board up and checking it if necessary. (10 mils and under) without erosion. At this point the board is rinsed under tap water and dried, ready for the application of the "GreenTRF" film that will transfer on top of the toner image to seal the image for etching (again through the application of heat & pressure). fully, since they cover this topic in more detail than I will. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Apache AL13P Professional 13 Wide A3 4 Roll Hot Cold Laminator for Document and Photo You can always add solder later, but too much is a mess. The board and paper are then submerged in a tray of water and the Dextrin coating begins to dissolve. Traces that carry higher current (e.g. Here are some basic tips I think you should keep in mind: If using pcb, you should export your layout to PostScript. Then save it. (I tried this with a foam brush and the acid ate it, so your mileage may vary.) synthesized the various guides into a process that has given me phenomenal results on BTW: I purchased some extra strong reading glasses based on my prescription from. Carefully align the holes. so it is important to minimize any movement in the axes parallel to the ground. Print your layout. If your laminator is too hot it can spread out the traces (mine doesnt so more passes does not hurt). copper boards should be the same size or slightly larger than the piece of transfer (copper side up, toner side down) and put the board and paper into the laminator, If making a single-sided board, use other layers for jumper wires. It works much better than alcohol. HP toner has been reported to be superior. Pour the acid into the tray SECOND, SLOWLY. If there are any, then clean the board with acetone, sandpaper and re-laminate! You may see some slight oxidization but it will not matter. The image must be printed on the shiny, light blue side of the A most powerful graphics & text capability. I don't have that much money to burn, but I'm a big believer in the time-money tradeoff. for the etching solution is 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part muriatic acid. This special foil goes hand-in-hand with the transfer paper and is explained in the next menu button, "Toner Foils". I have the GBC HeatSeal H212 and can tell you that thing is garbage dont even waste your money on that the best ones Ive tried are the Apache AL13P and the GBC H-220. Print out your PCB design on a sheet of plain paper using your laser printer (only a laser printer will work). HP Brochure Paper 150G #Q6611A it sticks badly. of boards and other people's layouts. Drill any holes. between a thin trace and a thicker trace, to be safe. Once it's been printed, cut out the design. Traces and spaces of 10 mils are no problem. If you use a. I like to export the images from Eagle so I can work with them (flip) as needed and control the resolution. Printing from pcb is best accomplished by exporting to PostScript, then Im sure that will save some folks a headache. Sure would have been nice to get a $43 price though. Print your mask. with clamps if possible. Take the plain paper image and make sure it was printed at the correct scale. X-On Electronics Pvt Ltd. Services. Follow all safety precautions. To do this: Turn off everything except Top, Pads, Vias and click OK. (You Use a hair drier to dry the PCB completely before the next step. If you Choose a file name, click Monochrome, Resolution 1200 dpi and click OK. Its a good idea to have the resolution that high to reduce jaggies, and your printer may smooth things better than you think. Use the fold-out tray if your printer has one. Hole sizes should correspond to the drill bits you intend to use. Glossy Magazine paper I got very inconsistent results the paper has to be glossy enough to not allow the toner to bond with the fibers otherwise when you try to get it off the PCB it will take traces with it. Take your copper-clad board and cut it down to size. The drill bit is very thin and rotates at very high speed, (Gloves still on so no fingerprints). Your images can transfer to all textured, flat or curved surfaces even transfer to a soft wax candle. dispose of it properly, and do not pour it down the drain. and the blue paper will come off entirely, leaving the toner fused to the board. Though it might feel like forever, you can drill a couple hundred holes in less than an hour. Use an ohm meter to test any suspect traces. Get all your parts ready. Michael, First, do a test with plain paper. Ugh! Leads are bendable, so being off by a little won't make When I find this much easier than trying to apply solder paste to pads that are 10 mils apart! Now its taped on two sides like a partial envelope so it can not shift easily and is ready to laminate. Use lacquer thinner and a paper towel to wipe the toner off the board. Since this design is for a single-sided board, DO NOT PRINT A MIRROR IMAGE. Keep a minimum of 10 mil between traces. therefore, be an "x-ray view" of what the underside would look like when viewed from the component side. Align them the best you can next time you will make your vias bigger, right? Use more space As mentioned earlier, I use a #73 drill bit for most holes, and a #67 bit for larger Larger have the size written in millimeters. It must be absolutely clean and shiny for the next step. should have information on the disposal of household hazardous waste. Variations of this method have been described many times online. Place the board in an electric skillet, then turn it up to 350 degrees F. Wait a few minutes for the solder to reflow, turn off the heat when its done, allow to cool. Cut the bottom and one side edge of the mask a short distance from the image, say 1/8 of an inch. Toner images print perfectly to the transfer paper because the printer thinks it is a regular soft sheet of paper, however, on one side of the paper is a barrier coating called Dextrin that prevents the toner from touching the fibers of the paper. The least expensive drilling option is to use a Dremel/Craftsman rotary tool and a All prices exclude GST. You may find that some of the image aligns perfectly, and other parts are slightly off. If your laminator is too hot then use less passes. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. This method is good for producing low volume/prototype boards. If there are any bits of toner stuck to the paper, or floating in the water, Align the transfer paper over the image that was printed on the plain paper with the dextrin side out. Toner Transfer Paper ("TTP") is the ideal medium for all laser printers and toner-based copiers to be able to capture and then re-fuse the image to the copper surface for etching. Clean with alcohol and/or a green scrubby pad, rinse, dry (use gloves). Fine traces will only be a couple pixels wide otherwise. It's always Repeat for the bottom side mask (if any), note that the image for the bottom does not need to be mirrored. Rough paper may use more toner (a good thing). All rights reserved. satisfied customer.). Have a look, the mod is fully reversible! Do this for the 2nd side if you are doing a 2 sided board. Put an X near one end before printing if you need to be sure of it. For my last The inside layer of the laser film will remain bonded to wherever there was toner. Tack opposite pins of any fine-pin chips so they do not shift during reflow (apply solder to any thermal pads under chip, but no solder paste on fine pin pads). You should still be wearing your gloves. Try not to touch the copper with your fingers, and handle it by the edges only. Website: DecalProFX.com, The only 8 minute PCB fabrication system for making quality, high-resolution Single & Double-sided PCBs with trace pitch down to .005" using basically any B&W laser printer or photo-copier, No Negatives, Developing Chemicals or Darkroom, Single & Double-sided Boards w/1/2oz CU for 1 minute etching, Rigid .032" and FlexBoard .005" super-flexible circuit boards, Traces down to .005" for all SMT board designs, Colorize any laser or copier printed page with unique metallic, pigment and special effect foils, Website loaded with tricks that no one else has the experience to tell you about, Overlay multiple foil shades for amazing composite designs, "Chemical Milling" using the Direct Etch technique. Ensure there are no right or acute angles. Make sure they are large enough before assembly. light blue side up. paper you just cut out. If using a ground plane or copper pour, make sure to check for sharp edges or other tight areas that might Someone has recommended printing a rectangle around the outside of your design that will help hold the transfer paper in place while laminating (Im sorry I have forgotten where I read this). Have two pieces of masking tape (or blue tape) cut to the length and width of the mask. I find that a sharpie marker does not work with my etchant. Toner is porous, so tiny amounts to eat into sharp corners. You should wear goggles and secure the base of the drill press to your work surface A bit of curling of the dextrin paper does not matter if the image is near the bottom of the page. If it prints over the X, you'll want to put the transfer paper in the tray with the Also, there's a high chance that traces will be eroded away during the etching process. When laying out traces, start with a 25 mil grid, then drop down to 10 or 5 mil if necessary. run through the laminator four times. Make sure thru-hole parts match the pitch also. Copyright This works very well, however the blue paper is so opaque/dark that it is very difficult to align double sided boards. From what I've read, the Dremel-branded drill press attachment is constructed very poorly. If if prints on the other side, you'll want to put the transfer paper in I've read numerous articles on the web about etching your own printed circuit boards, and use a face mask, you do not want to breathe any of this in. Turn 90 degrees and repeat, there should be an even pattern of sanding marks. you've got it all, give the board a good rinse, dry it, and set it aside. 10 mil traces can be used for tight areas. This is an earlier version of my A3987 Stepper Driver board (50v, 1.5A) after tinning. PCB drill bits are Obviously you dont want to mix these up. The most critical elements are: having a good transfer paper, a good laminator ($43), and a properly prepared PCB. in a confined space. With larger pads, soldering will be easier, This was a double copper thickness (2 oz), double sided board. Tape the transfer paper along the top edge (the edge that will be drawn into the printer first). I won't give a complete tutorial here. Here is the one they recommend: the entire surface is shiny. Get one of the paint trays and put a plastic liner in it. I have tried many toner transfer methods including using an Iron to laminate (ugh! No violent reactions should happen here; just a little bubbling if anything. If single sided, just place the mask on top. Fill one of the trays with half an inch or so of cold water and have it ready. and I hope you're reading this in full first, not reading as you go!) Make sure now that you mirrored the image for the top of the PCB! As soon as you see all the copper is gone, leave the board in the etchant for of muriatic acid. Make sure there will be an inch (or more) space above and to the sides. boards will probably break your average paper cutter. Note the orientation of the page as it is pulled into the printer. (Any container made of polypropylene or polyethylene transfer paper. about 15 seconds more, then place it into the tray of water to stop the reaction. The Toner Transfer method utilizes a laser printer to create the etching mask for a PCB. Use Acetone to remove the toner resist. 1/2 oz. copper boards sold by Pulsar are transparent and colorless, so it can document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Perfect single or double sided PCBs with the Toner Transfer Method, https://www.amazon.com/TruLam-12-Inch-Pouch-Laminator-TL-320B/dp/B00E9JT3Y2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487355513&sr=8-1&keywords=trulam, http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/start_here/laminator_info.html, http://www.amazon.com/Apache-AL13P-Professional-Laminator-Document/dp/B0012UEQ5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372796999&sr=8-1&keywords=apache+AL13P, http://www.clubjameco.com/index.php/projects/project_brief/24/21353/laminator_mod-_pcb_toner_transfer_from_parchment. After a few attempts, I've The foil likes to curl up, it's kind of tricky to work with. Print out a placement diagram with part values, and the Bill of Materials. Use a paper cutter, and make sure the cuts are strait and square. to make sure they line up. when drilling. Hack a Day article and video, which served as my main reference. to the copper. This is normal as laser printers do not always print perfectly evenly. into one of trays. can eat right through tiny traces. If you have text in your layout, it should be oriented correctly on the printout. Watch Look for the initials "PP" or "PE" on the bottom of the container.) Rock the tray around gently or use a sponge or brush to wipe the solution over the board. The idea behind the idea of "add acid to water" is that, since you're You better be wearing gloves! I have had some tiny traces fall off that way. Apply solder paste with a hypodermic (except for fine pin chips), just a dot in each location. When the board comes out the other end, Be sure to read Pulsar's instructions If the fine pin chip(s) do not have a thermal pad, then install them after reflow. Without all of these it will be hit and miss! I looked at the Swingline GBC Fusion 1100L 9-Inch Laminator it has a strait path and so may work. If the Get the same high quality images as expensive "send-out" commercially made transfers at a fraction of the cost, and do it in your shop in under 10 minutes. Shiny and polished = not good. It will help a lot to have the image near the bottom of the page. Pre-clean the PCB with alcohol and a bit of paper towel. Otherwise if you have a solder stencil youre golden, Place any SMT parts using tweezers, using your magnifier light, and your best reading glasses (as needed). Tape them at the top of the board shiny side out, on both sides. Within a minute of being wet, the paper completely releases the toner and floats away from the board on its own. Note: some folks use a green scrubby pad or cleanser to clean the copper. offers a really novel way of drilling precisely lined-up holes, but I haven't tried it. to use GreenTRF foil to seal the toner image. https://www.amazon.com/TruLam-12-Inch-Pouch-Laminator-TL-320B/dp/B00E9JT3Y2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487355513&sr=8-1&keywords=trulam, Never mind; I see at the toner foil site a recommended laminator: http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/start_here/laminator_info.html Isopropyl alcohol (the higher % the better). After 10 minutes the Dextrin will dissolve and cause the paper to come off cleanly, or even float off without any force, leaving perfect traces behind. 15 or 20 mil traces are good for sparse layouts. I like to place the smallest parts first. (1 oz. Pour as little as possible (it's expensive!) Please let me know how it works for you. Take the still very warm (but not hot) board and place it inside the envelope of the masks. X on it with a pencil, and put it in the manual feed tray with the X facing up. Align the cut edges to the PCB using a table top. You want this edge to be. (Do not use paper towel for this, it can leave a residue. Cut a piece of GreenTRF about 2 inches longer than the long side of the board. Note that this tutorial is for single-sided boards only, but it's possible The laminator should be on and hot. This version had inputs for all the chip functions, with status LEDs for each. turn it around 180 degrees (so the other edge goes in first, copper side still up). label them in copper if you like. It's easy for etchant and corrosion Make sure the edges of the PCB are not sharp, I touch them up on a bench grinder or use a file. I use some extra mailing labels for this. obliterated traces. I found that out the hard way.) Ancel said he thought this Trulam TL320 was the same as the Alps AL13P for his mod kit: You can use plastic adhesive shelf paper to cover any place you do not want etched on later versions of this board I covered the outside areas as the entire board is a heatsink for the A3987 stepper driver chip. As soon as it reflows wipe the soldering tip sideways directly away from the chip body to easily remove any excess solder (the solder will follow the heat of the tip), or use solder wick. holes. board, which was 7 inches by 2 inches, I used 12 oz. I was able to cut a thin slice of shelf paper (made of plastic, with a sticky side) and use that to repair the spot before etching. of peroxide and 6 oz. Some small holes etc may not come off with the film just use a bit of blue painters tape or other tape wrapped around your finger sticky side out to remove these bits from the board. Then follow (Disclaimer: No, I'm not a Pulsar shill, just a drill bit impacts the board at an angle, it will break very easily. Pads for through hole parts should be at least 65 mils. 10-sheet Pack in self-sealing package, Company History | Our Guarantee | Return Policy | Payment Types We Accept | Your Privacy. try to work outside if possible so the vapors are not trapped Using any laser printer or photo-copier, Toner Transfer Paper and GreenTRF foil you can etch all the way through brass or copper shim to create 3-D objects or etch-relief to any depth to create extremely intricate images in brass, copper and silver. Rinse the board in hot water for one minute (still using your gloves) and brush lightly with just a cotton ball very lightly as you do not want to disturb a trace at this stage! power and ground lines) should be larger. http://www.clubjameco.com/index.php/projects/project_brief/24/21353/laminator_mod-_pcb_toner_transfer_from_parchment. When aligned, tape the top edge with masking tape. You do not need to use soap in the water. If you have not already done so: place each part type on the printed image and make sure they align with the pads! Turn on the laminator and let it heat up for about 30 minutes. Inspect it, and make sure the resolution is high enough. and, fed up with long lead times, I spent a bit of time trying to make my own. should definitely keep your mask on, unless you like feeling lightheaded). ), using magazine paper, different ways of cleaning the board I am not trying to describe the cheapest method, I just want something that works perfectly every time without messing around! Press-n-Peel will come off even faster in perhaps 1 minute. GreenTRF prevents this from happening, allowing very fine traces There are plenty of resources available online for learning how to design a PCB, so Export the same way except with a different name. Its much more reliable! Letter Size (8-1/2" x 11") Set your printer to its highest density setting and print onto the transfer paper. Allow to cool and peel off the outer film layer. A most powerful graphics & text capability. Craftsman drill press base. 8 or 6 mil traces will probably work, but less than 10 is pushing it. of etchant can seep through and under it. }v4?Q|IJ$~H5Igyyyy* $(Q^9NMEQ UwS6Nuc\]k:fthvX-z9ii=PA The only in-house DIY system for making your own real dry-transfer, rub-down images on-demand in minutes using any laser printer or copier. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The secret recipe To ensure a good transfer, repeat this once more for each direction. Drilling is straightforward: hold the board perfectly still with one hand and Take your board and slip it into the tray. Please ensure you have read and understood our Terms & Conditions before purchasing. Clean up any mistakes with a q-tip. Just a plug in feature PCB with several additional functions. The HeatSeal H212 is still available on Overstock.com and other places. I do not think that works as well as that can burnish the surface and make it harder for the toner to stick! boards are thin enough to cut with a save you time, frustration, and consumables. Let me know if you try it! Let the bit do the work. On an HP printer you may have the option to print on Rough paper,econo-mode off, REt (resolution enhancement) on. Place the two masks face to face and hold up to a bright light. After 30 minutes, when the Ready light is on, lay the printed transfer paper over the copper board The sandpaper method is just as fast, produces a grippy surface, and does not saturate the copper pores with water. Inspect with a magnifier to make sure you got them all. I set my iron for 600 degrees and do not leave it in place long. Make sure the last edge is trimmed even, but keep that edge at least inch away from the image, and fold a piece of tape over this side.

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