Labelling DIP ICs - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 03:11:02 am
content: Anyone know of a P-Touch type machine that can easily make labels for .300 DIPs? My little PT-90 can print sideways but not continuously and doesn't let me control the spacing finely, ie way too much wasted space on that tiny ribbon cartridge!I don't need laminated labels.I'm wondering if a solder stencil can be used as a silkscreen (I suppose so), but what kind of ink or paint paste can I use?The text I need is simply something along the lines of eg. "U702", nothing fancy like a logo or graphics.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 03:25:26 am
content: A sheet of suitable laser printer labels and your favourite label designing software (I use glabels on my linux box), now you can design them how you want, and if your design software is half-decent you can even do a "merge" to populate them with data if desired.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 03:27:51 am
content: Stencilling will get very messy very quickly, and its not exactly easy to prevent the ink flowing between the stencil and the surface you are marking.Brother have 6mm tapes in their P-Touch system, but unfortunately not for your machineHow many chips at a time do you need to mark with the same number?

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 04:02:52 am
content: A handful of chips at most, a dozen. I'm just super OCD once I get a visual in my mind's eye...I used to use very small Apli labels I got at a weird store, I think they were made by Herma, a German company that makes nothing but label printers... But can't find them anymore.Maybe yeah, simply slicing up laser labels will be good, the chips don't get hot at all.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 04:46:31 am
content: For that small a quantity, a 0.5mm silver paint pen (e.g.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilot-Metallic-Colour-Silver-Permanent/dp/B00PCKKUDA), and hand-written labelling directly on the chip could work well if you've got a steady hand. Stick the chips in a breadboard to hold them steady.The laser labels aren't really a good option because you have to plan to use a whole sheet at a time as once any labels have been peeled off it, it isn't safe to put back through a laser printer, or through an inkjet with a folded paper path.If you are feeling flush, you *could* treat yourself to a PC based label printer, (e.g.http://www.brother.co.uk/labelling/ptouch-labellers/ptp700which takes TZe label tapes from 3.5mm to 24mm)

author: CaveMannDave
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 05:46:56 am
content: Hi:Used to use tiny white prucut tags, white enamel or even correction fluid for contrast, then write with rapidograph or sharpie on that, even on DIP-08s.D.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 06:56:45 am
content: Keep in mind that many printers/labels are thermal... if the chip gets warm - it will last a week at best before being unreadable.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 07:16:47 am
content: Excellent point. However Brother P-Touch tapes use a thermal transfer ink (i.e a coated plastic film ink ribbon) so unlike thermosensitive paper, heating a printed label cant activate unprinted areas. Brother claim that they are usable from -80°C to 150°C. If the surface of a PDIP chip is outside that range, you've got worse problems than a damaged label!

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2016, 07:40:32 am
content: Here are a couple from my stash, sold to me by a legitimate retailer:The top one is marked with a vibrating etcher tool, the bottom one is stamped with metal number stamps, probably heated, then filled with silver marking ink.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 01:50:58 am
content: I think I'll just have a rubber stamp made and stamp 4 ICs at a time, seems white ink pads exist.

author: jwm_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 04:40:14 am
content: I wrote a blog entry about the method I use, can pull down pinouts from chipdb and produce rather nice labelshttp://notanumber.net/archives/83/label-your-chipsThe code is a little crusty but easy to modify. Most recent change was to allow mirroring for labeling the bottom for dead bug projects.

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2016, 06:38:37 pm
content: Quote from: alsetalokin4017 on February 04, 2016, 07:40:32 amYou may want to reconsider what you consider to be a "legitimate retailer".