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A laser etcher for PCB manufacture...? — Parallax Forums

A laser etcher for PCB manufacture...?

kjennejohnkjennejohn Posts: 171
edited 2006-12-20 07:14 in General Discussion
This is a C-Net article about two dudes starting a company in·NYC that does custom etching for laptops and such. The thing is, one of them plans to eventually tell how it's done. Could this be applied to board etching for prototypes, maybe even small scale board·manufacturing? Waddayah think?

http://news.com.com/Laser+etching+coming+to+a+laptop+near+you/2100-1041-6143072.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e433

Comments? Suggestions?

Happy holidays,
kenjj

Comments

  • T ChapT Chap Posts: 4,223
    edited 2006-12-13 01:47
    Those lasers in the photos are designed to cut plastic and woods, and other light materials. To fab a PCB with a laser is doable, but it would require a more powerful laser that will burn copper, and the end result may not look so pretty as it would inevitably burn the board material. A machine to handle metals is $75K and up, the process would still be much slower for fabrication, and large runs would require numerous lasers + maintenance. My opinion is that it wont ever replace nor even compete with the standard solutions, but may be an option for specific circumstances, none of which comes to mind. Interesting idea though. I am doing laser cuting on similar machines all the time now for PCB solder paste stencils.
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2006-12-14 13:02
    To quote a rather weak James Bond pun - Never say never...

    Technology WILL change the way pcbs are made. There have already been changes and there will be huge changes in the imediate future. Trouble is we just don't know what those changes will be.

    Will they be laser, will they be small milling machine, will they be copper printing or some other conductive printing or a wild variation of these. It depends on which technology wins.

    As the Romans would say "Let the games begin..."

    Kind regards·from Africa,·the continent were we can't even spell tekno.. tecnol.. technology.

    John Bond in Kwa Dukuza.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2006-12-14 15:25
    It's already here http://www.lpkf.com/products/pcb-cutting-technology/microline-350ci/index.htm

    Bean.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com

    Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com
    SX-Video Display Modules www.sxvm.com
    Stuff I'm selling on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZhittconsultingQQhtZ-1

    "USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman
  • inakiinaki Posts: 262
    edited 2006-12-18 22:20
    The microline is intended for depaneling, that is to say, to cut PCBs profiles, it is not intended·to perform·PCBs etching.



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  • hutdonhutdon Posts: 32
    edited 2006-12-18 23:37
    Just thinking out loud. Does anyone know of a chemical coating that when exposed to a low power laser would form a tight bond to a copper clad board. Then the board could be etched using tried and true methods. In other words the laser would be used to create the mask.
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2006-12-19 00:41
    inaki said...

    The microline is intended for depaneling, that is to say, to cut PCBs profiles, it is not intended·to perform·PCBs etching.



    Oops, Wrong link http://www.lpkf.com/products/rapid-pcb-prototyping/laser-circuit-structuring/index.htm

    Bean.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com

    Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com
    SX-Video Display Modules www.sxvm.com
    Stuff I'm selling on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZhittconsultingQQhtZ-1

    "USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2006-12-19 07:12
    There was a previous thread on inks that work in normal inkjet printers yet are impervious to Etching fluid. The supplier wanted someone in North America to work with them to develop a simple PCB. See this:-

    http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=7&m=140357&g=140561#m140561

    Kind regards from the Africa - Dark Continent
    John Bond

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  • bot-manbot-man Posts: 22
    edited 2006-12-19 15:42
    I wonder if one could use the laser with light sensitive PCB material. You would still have the standard etch process and chemicals to deal with, but I suspect a laser might have more accurate placement that some of the other exposure methods (transparency, toner transfer, etc).

    Paul
  • John BondJohn Bond Posts: 369
    edited 2006-12-20 07:14
    Hey Paul

    There may be an equally fast yet cheaper and easier way - Read the previous post...

    1. Print directly onto your PCB using a cheap dot matrix printer.
    2. Then stick your board into the etching fluid and in 20 mins, you have a PCB
    3. Then put the etched PCB back in your printer and print the "Screen Print"
    4. Drill the board, solder the components and apply power and you have a working circuit. (In my case, it would sometimes be just a puff of smoke!)

    It just needs someone in the USA to work with the ink supplier to develop a suitable ink...

    Seems to me, we may be missing a very good opportunity here. I would love to be able to build a cheap, high quality and accurate PCB, from schematic to working circuit, in less than three hours, wouldn’t you???

    So, if you want to be part of an instant PCB revolution, just develop this system.

    Kind Regards from Kwa Dukuza in South Africa, where everything moves slowly…
    John Bond

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