Press 'n Peel laser PCB's opinions

Sat Feb 06, 2010 11:38 am   

I am thinking of trying "Press 'n Peel" film with the idea it would
be more reliable than the homemade toner release papers, etc.

Can anyone who has used it, please report their good or bad
experiences?

Any hints to obtain better results?

Or is it not significantly better than the type of process described
here:

http://gilmore2.chem.northwestern.edu/projects/garbz2_prj.php

Claus Jensen

Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:41 pm   

"Claus Jensen" <clausjensen_at_watermark.com> wrote in message
news:4b6d4519.1256281_at_news.tpg.com.au...

Press n Peel works well, it does have some issues with fine pitch
artwork. But I've done 2 sided boards with good results.
For fine pitch artwork I tried the iron on foils with better results,
but they tend to stretch on larger boards.

Cheers

Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:59 pm   

On Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:38:55 GMT, clausjensen_at_watermark.com (Claus
Jensen) wrote:


I've used it but not recently, having become a convert to the low cost
commercial board services.

PnP is nice in that it eliminates the "soak and scrub" steps required of
methods that use inkjet photo paper, glossy magazine pages, or the paper
sold directly as toner transfer paper. Once the PnP has fused with the
PCB blank, just let it cool and peel off the backing.

Surface prep is critical. The blank must be completely cleaned of oxides
and contaminants, like fingerprints. And cat hair...

The toner is also critical. Some laser printer toners just don't
transfer well while others are easy. Refilled cartridges may also be
chancier. If the board is clean but the toner doesn't transfer then you
may need to use another printer/copier. I'd imagine that you can get an
idea of how well your toner will transfer by just printing any image or
text onto a transfer-friendly paper (a glossy, clay coated magazine
page) and trying to fuse it onto a cleaned blank.

One thing to consider is moving to 31 mil (1/32") blanks instead of the
more common 62 mil (1/16"). Home-brew boards are usually small enough
that the mechanical strength of thicker boards is offset by the ease of
cutting (regular scissors will work, no scoring or grinding required)
and the reduction in dust the from holes.

If you DO move to 31 mil, then you may want to think about using a
laminating machine as the fuser instead of a hot clothes iron. The stack
height of a 31 mil board, plus the PnP and a backing sheet will often be
within the capacity of a laminator. It may take a couple of passes but
you'll be using a consistent pressure and heat with each run.

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

Sat Feb 06, 2010 6:41 pm   

Claus Jensen wrote:



But one thing to note, I have found that on any
approach that you use, if you don't first heat the board
a little in a toaster oven or hot air gun prior to applying the
image to the clad, you may get spotty results here and there..

The heating does 2 things, dries the surface and gets it hot
so the toner can stick better.

I have done this with direct paper on the board with great
results. Just soak off afterwards. But photo inkjet (glossy) is
my primary paper, from printer to board.

Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:47 pm   

On Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:41:57 -0500, Jamie
<jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1lpa__at_charter.net> wrote:


Has anyone tried running the paper through the printer twice, eg.
over-printing the image, to get more laser toner onto the paper?

Could be a registration problem, but may be acceptable for larger
patterns. A few tries and one is bound to be close.

Claus Jensen

Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:09 am   

In article <4b6d4519.1256281_at_news.tpg.com.au>, clausjensen_at_watermark.com
says...

I never got PnP to work reliably and consistantly.
Maybe I was doing something wrong.
And when I needed smaller detail, PnP became more of a hassle.
I now make boards by laminating a photosensitive film and photoexposing.

Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:02 pm   

D from BC wrote:

Where do you get the film from?

Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:29 pm   

On 6 Feb, 10:38, clausjen...@watermark.com (Claus Jensen) wrote:

I get excellent results (down to 8/8 mil) with the standard photo-etch
process.

Leon

Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:38 pm   

In article <hkmrn1$q72$1_at_news.eternal-september.org>,
Jon_Slaughter_at_Hotmail.com says...

http://www.capefearpress.com/order.html

--
D from BC
British Columbia

Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:51 pm   

On Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:47:15 GMT, clausjensen_at_watermark.com (Claus Jensen) wrote:


Though it is not discussed in your link or Gootee's page it has been
reported to help when you have large copper areas.

Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:21 pm   

JosephKK wrote:


to have issues aligning the sheet in the same place each time.

But in any case, I usually have good luck on a single pass..

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:12 am   

D from BC wrote:

How hard is it to apply to the copper? It's about a 50% savings over buying
presensitized boards. If it's pretty easy to use then it's a significant
savings.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:13 am   

Jon Slaughter wrote:

And I assume it works pretty good?

Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:07 am   

In article <hknhcb$m2t$1_at_news.eternal-september.org>,
Jon_Slaughter_at_Hotmail.com says...

I find it easy..

I squeegee the film on small boards using my drivers license card.


--
D from BC
British Columbia

Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:15 am   

In article <hknhf5$m93$1_at_news.eternal-september.org>,
Jon_Slaughter_at_Hotmail.com says...

Yes.
Under 4x magnification etched pcb traces look sharp.

Soon I'll be trying a 'low haze' transparency film which may reduce the
exposure time when using a 50W halogen.


--
D from BC
British Columbia