
Direct to PCB InkJet Resist Printing (2006) - camtarn
http://techref.massmind.org/techref/pcb/etch/directinkjetresist.htm
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opencl
I'm surprised I've never heard of this before. Toner transfer was always kind
of a pain. Now I just prefer milling because it avoids all the nasty acid and
lets you accurately drill holes and cut the PCB to size/shape at the same
time. Small CNC machines are pretty cheap these days, the one I use cost $130.

PCB houses are amazingly cheap and fast compared to just a few years ago but
if you don't need multiple layers nothing beats having it done in a few
minutes for ~$0.10 per square inch for prototyping.

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jhart99
Out of curiosity, what cnc machine are you using?

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opencl
I have the Linksprite engraving machine[1], there are a bunch of companies
selling the same design if you search for "CNC 1610" on any of the major
e-tailer sites. It's called 1610 because the build area is 16x10cm, there are
larger versions called 2418 and 3018.

At the price point it's obviously the bargain basement model of the CNC world
and the quality is not great. But it works fine for PCBs as long as you don't
need super narrow traces, the backlash is surprisingly not terrible thanks to
the preloaded nuts.

[1] [http://store.linksprite.com/diy-cnc-3-axis-engraver-
machine-...](http://store.linksprite.com/diy-cnc-3-axis-engraver-machine-pcb-
milling-wood-carving-router-kit-arduino-grbl-assembled-version/)

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mlevental
how do you use a CNC to mill traces?

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opencl
I use FlatCAM to generate gcode from the PCB gerber files. Then just load up a
copper clad board on the machine and let it cut away the copper until only
your traces are left.

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bacon_waffle
Genuine question: with all the great quality, super fast, and incredibly cheap
PCB fab options available now - what motivates making PCBs at home?

I totally get that it's a fun process (and back in the day made plenty of
boards with toner transfer + sharpie cleanup + ferric chloride), but if
there's an interest in better quality product, the commercial solutions are
going to be lightyears better and designs meant for them are far easier for
others to replicate.

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new299
I know of no super-fast cheap fabrication option. Turn-around for any of the
low-cost/two layer fabs is >2 weeks.

That’s significant if it’s a hobby and you want to do a project in a weekend,
or iterate over a design quickly.

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justwalt
I’ve never used JLCPCB for anything too intense, but turnaround has always
been 5 days on the high end in my experience. Is it different if you require
more layers or more sophistication?

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zaarn
JLCPCB always requires atleast two weeks for shipping in my experience. And
I'd rather test out 2-3 designs on a single day if possible, especially
iterative designs. That isn't possible without DIY PCB etching.

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sokoloff
I typically get orders from JLCPCB in 6 or 7 _calendar_ days from the time of
submission, using DHL for shipping to the east coast of the US.

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zaarn
yeah, but i'm not on the east coast of the US but in Europe.

Either way, even a 2 day turnaround would be too much for iterative
prototyping or even testing out some ideas.

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VygmraMGVl
I used a method somewhat similar to this as an undergraduate researcher to
cheaply develop patterns on copper-clad kapton for flexible circuits.

I used a solid ink printer, which I found by crawling the university network
for printers and querying them for their model number until I found one. Then
a very nice sysadmin let me use it on a thick sheet of copper clad kapton and
it luckily did not jam! One of my few research success stories.

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asynchronous13
I used to make my own PCBs at home, and I still really enjoy the technologies
that allow making high quality boards from home. I've found for my personal
stuff that going through a low-cost fab house is just so economical, and the
quality is so good that I usually can't be bothered to do it myself anymore.
Still great if you want the learning experience, or if you really need it
_now_.

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utopcell
This site is ancient (the printer used is from mid 2000s,) which makes this
all the more impressive. PCBs with 1 mil traces are still quite expensive to
prototype. OTOH, if you need such thin traces, you also probably need multi-
layer PCBs.

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philpem
Not always. Sometimes you just need a breakout board for a really fine-pitch
IC or connector.

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gaze
Volkan Sahin, as far as I can tell, is one of the few people to truly master
printing from a high end inkjet cartridge as a hobbyist. Really really
impressive work.

