Does inkjet ink resist PCB etchant?

Jonathan

Hi All,

I just got one of the serial printer kits. My intention is to make a 'bot that imitates the patterns of ancient flatworms. However, I got to wondering, if inkjet ink will resist PCB etchant, then I could make a PCB machine out of it. Would beat the you know what out of toner transfer. Anyone know if it does indeed resist?

Jonathan

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Bean

You'll probably have to try it, but I know that a "Sharpie" does resist etchant.
Bean.

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Forrest

You'll need to try it but chance are NOT good that inkjet ink will hold up to etchant.

But xerox/laser toner DOES hold up to etchant.

Clock Loop

Itsn't laster printer toner MELTED onto the paper almost sealing the part of the paper covered in with ink.

Dot maxtix is just that, a bunch of tiny little dots, it will not SEAL the part that is covered with ink, instead there will be a bunch of tiny holes. But I am not too sure if thats a big enough deal to mention. Try it but don't be surprised if the dotmatrix ink etches are very shoddy. Laser printers seem to do better at fine detail too.

Also, I am not sure that you CAN transfer the dot matrix ink from your printed medium onto your etchable board. The benefit with laser toner, is you can prink your mask onto a transparency, then using an iron, you RE-MELT the laser toner onto your etch board.

Dot matrix ink doesn't use HEAT to work. (making the transfer from your transparency to your etch board almost impossible) This might be why laser printers work best.

Jonathan

Well, I'm setting up the print head, and I'll try it and let you all know. I have this other iron on mask stuff that I might be able to use to strengthen the inkjet art after it has been applied to the PCB. I use this stuff to strengthen laser toner transfer art on the board.

BPM, I'm not trying to transfer the ink. I'll be printing directly onto the PCB. Since this will be a custom application, I can cover/re-cover an area until it is covered enough to etch.

Here is hoping!!

Jonathan

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Paul Baker

Go ahead and try, but I think you'll be disapointed. Inkjet ink is water soluable, since you'll be placing the board in an aqueous solution it will natually disolve. Be sure to provide adequate time for the ink to completely dry to help mitigate this from happening.

Using UV inkjet ink may prove to be a better solution (pun), since it uses UV to cure the ink and isnt·air drying (evaporative), it should produce better results.

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·1+1=10

Post Edited (Paul Baker) : 12/9/2005 7:37:48 PM GMT

John R.

There have been hints that you could fill the cartridge with anything that boils. You might be able to use a different type of "ink" or other solution.

Also note that the standard ink is intended to be used on "porous" materials.

You may also have problems (depending on the type of "ink") in that an inkjet line is a series of "dots" (as mentioned above) that are actually microdroplets of ink. If these flow together as they dry, or overlap, you would have a "solid" line, other wise you might end up with a very fine "mesh".

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John R.

8 + 8 = 10

Post Edited (John R.) : 12/9/2005 9:38:39 PM GMT

Beau Schwabe

If the "dots" are actually a problem, couldn't you apply some form of mechanical dithering by making a second print pass with a slight offset? Just an idea.

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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

Beau Schwabe

Here is a thought using the regular ink...

Simply print directly to a photo sensitive board. ( Printing must be done in the dark of course )

This way you eliminate the step requiring a transparency with the photo resist.

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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

knightofoldcode

From what I understand the reason that the toner works and the ink doesn't is because it can be remelted onto the PCB, and it consists of ~%50 plastic, which would allow it to remelt.

True, a sharpie does resist ehcting, but not that great. At least not with the method of etching that I use.

Knight.

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LoopyByteloose

I really don't like the toner transfer as it is a bit tricky and unreliable.

I print a positive image onto to a clear transparency file WITH AN INK JET PRINTER.

I carefully let it dry and then use this with a light sensitive printed circuit board.
I seem to get much higher quality this way.
I can also save an image for multiple use and I can easily inspect an image for flaws and touch up.

Building a whole machine for this is a bit over the top.
I think that you would be better off to build a machine that could easily keep the drilling of the holes to a 0.1" grid.
If you used a X-Y table and steppers with a small PC camera to 'see' the drill site, you could then hit a button and have the hole drilled.

I now do all my holes by hand with a pin vise holding a 0.8mm drill. I have much better control that with a Dremel tool running at full speed. But it remains a bit tedious work.
So, you see that this seems to be my biggest problem with making one off or prototype circuit boards - not the etching process.

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Jonathan

Hi All,

Well, I couldn't get the printer to work yesterday. It may have a problem or it might be me :-0. I hope to get this resolved soon. I doubt it's going to work, but I'm the type that the idea will bother me until I know one way or the other. Doing it is the easiest way to flush it out of my system

Kramer, I too get a little sick of the toner transfer method. Some days it is simply great, other days I pull my hair out in chunks. I don't mind the drilling so much, but the transfer can drive me nuts. I make PCBs pretty often, so I want to get a system which is reliable but I just can't afford to go the CNC route. So you like the photo method? I haven't tried that for close to 20 years, maybe it's time I gave it another shot. Any helpful hints?

Knight, I find that the resist abilities of a Sharpie pen depend on the temp. of the etchant bath. Too hot and it doesn't work well, but in the right range it is fine.

Beau, interesting idea to try a photo sensitive board and print directly. I may well try that too.

Thanks for all the input.

Jonathan

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Orion

I like the photo method. ·It works great once you get a system down.· I find the biggest items are to make sure you expose it long enough, and use hot water to mix up the developer.· Here are some pics of the last board I cooked up.· Most traces are .01".· Granted my drilling is less than perfect but that’s why I'm switching to SMD parts.·

How are you planing to print directly on PCB??


Post Edited (Orion) : 12/10/2005 4:38:56 PM GMT

Jonathan

Orion,

Nice looking boards. How well can you do traces between .01 spaced pins? That is really what I would like to be able to do reliably. Touching up inbetween pins is a toughie.

I hope to print directly onto the PCB using Parallax's new serial printer module. It probably won't work, but that never stopped me from trying before!

Jonathan

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Orion

I don't have any doubts I could squeak .01 or .005 traces between pins. But soldering those pins without bridging everything together would be another story. I haven't tried that because of this, usually it's a lot less hassle to route under the IC or place a via under and flip sides to get away from an IC. My software does not leave a whole in the center on the pads, which makes centering the holes a pain.

Post Edited (Orion) : 12/10/2005 5:02:43 PM GMT