Time depends on strength of developer, temperature and speed of the resist.
I use sodium hydroxide solution to develop and a brush to speed the process.
Yes.Beware of laser printing onto acetate sheet it can melt the sheet and wreck the printer. I use good quality tracing paper and find it works well with both laser printers and highest density ink jet printers.
Regards sirkituk
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Absolutely true, because normal lenses block UV. However, one trick that would get around that would be to put a sheet of fluorescent material in place of your PCB, & meter off the visible light it creates from the UV. I'd suggest a card painted with fluorescent green poster paint.
Yes. You need to use acetate sheets that are specifically labelled as being suitable for photocopiers or laser printers. They are perfectly safe for this purpose. Ones intended for inkjet ARE NOT safe in lasers. Don't take the salesperson's word for it, check the label on the box yourself.
I've heard others say that too, but haven't tried it myself. Can you recommend any specific brands?
I meant to say "submerge it in developer..."
The MG Chemicals demo video <
shows that there is a developer solution into which the exposed PCB needs to be developed. They just use a foam brush to brush off the exposed resist. Looks like a pretty quick process.
Are you using NaOH in place of the developer? To supplement the developer? Or are you using it as a wash to remove the unneeded (exposed) resist after development?
And are you using MG Chem. PCBs? (Just want to understand what chems work with what boards...)
A great idea.
Thanks,
The Xylene stuff is the developer for KPR type resist. Awful stuff, I stopped using it 30 years ago. The NaCO3 (Sodium Carbonate) is used for Riston type dry film resist that is thermally laminated to the board. NaOH is the resist stripper for after the etching is done. At least, those are the materials I am familiar with.
Jon
FWIW- Some people just enjoy the challenge of re-inventing the wheel... Jamie
yes, the xylene type is quite noxious and requires adequate ventilation, (im sure its NOT a green process at any rate!) and the stuff is deadly flammable too! gloved hands required too.
it was what i used from my years at a tech in a small company, so i had a ready supply of surplus stuff to use. me a cheapie!
the new sodium hydroxide method seems adequate and just as reliable for the few times i used it. and u can use the was repeatedly and the use it to strip floor wax off the office tile floors! :-)) same stuff in EasyClean Oven cleaner, cuts grease like lightning! a fairly common chemical for many uses.
yes, acetate is better than running mylar thru a 450 degree printer fuser , i just never got it stuck or whatever happens i guess. best to use the recommneded transparency media recommended by the laser printer manufacturer.
to
developer? Or
with.
I live and work in UK I use what I refer to as standard PCB board (purchased from Rapid Electronics) They have a website catalogue you could check for more details
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