case & board design problems - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Ozracing
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2013, 12:38:09 am
content: Hey guys, got myself couple of questions to ask about PCBs and case design issues i'm stuck at.1. What kind of lacquer to use for that "retail" green (or other color) finish?2. How to make pretty high quality silk screens?3. Is there any user friendly way to export PCB from Eagle to 3d modeling software (preferably sketchup) ?Thanks for your time guys,Aldas

author: hlavac
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2013, 05:33:27 pm
content: For the green solder mask I tried Dynamask and it woked nicely.

author: peps1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2013, 08:15:56 pm
content: Quote from: Ozracing on April 19, 2013, 12:38:09 am1. pass!2. how much do you know about screen printing? just need mesh count and ink options?3. Eagleup (http://eagleup.wordpress.com/)

author: Ozracing
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2013, 11:59:09 pm
content: Quote from: hlavac on April 19, 2013, 05:33:27 pmThanks will try it for sureQuote from: peps1 on April 19, 2013, 08:15:56 pm1. Not sure why to pass it but green or other colour lacquer looks nice & gives that nice finish to diy boards by my thoughts2. I know nothing about silk screening thats wy im asking3. Already tried EagleUp and it needs more 3d models of parts... I'm quite good at modeling stuff with sketchup but making all the parts im using in my project is a bit harsh...Thanks for your time,Aldas

author: peps1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 12:11:52 am
content: Sorry, I meant 'I pass' on the question, as I know nothing about solder mask.Screen printing is a REALLY big topic, but this video my help you with the concept. (and any question just ask, it one of the few topics I can help with on this forum!!)

author: Ozracing
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 01:20:07 am
content: Quote from: peps1 on April 20, 2013, 12:11:52 amoh cool thanks and i guess i will have bunch of questions for you when i will return from university in approx 12h or soanyway thanks for info guys. By the way is there a huge difference on what kind of copper board i do all the screening and lacquering?because i have some old russian copper boards only difference from the new ones i can locally buy is that glass fibers are bigger and looks not very good, actually those old boards look terrible but still do the job at etching and etc.Thanks for your time,Aldas

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 11:14:07 am
content: Quote from: Ozracing on April 19, 2013, 12:38:09 am1. It's very hard to get a high quality (and actually functional) solder mask finish when doing DIY. You can buy UV cure ink/paint (actually more a type of epoxy I believe, but anyway) which you can expose with pad artwork then wipe clean the unexposed pads - but it's tricky to work with, at least to get a high quality result. And you can also get dry film UV sensitive soldermask which is probably easier to work with but harder to find, I think it's thicker than the more common negative active dry film resist but usage in the same manner. If you are not so worried about the actual solder masking ability, I've heard of people using various lacquer spray paints to lightly coat the board, and then they just solder right through it (burn away by the iron tip).2. High quality silk screens, only one way reallly, an actual silk screen. You could do toner transfer like you would for etch resisting, but since you're really limited to black toner, especially if it's over the top of a soldermask you're going to have to use a light coloured soldermask (you can get white ink, but I think the dry film comes in any colour as long as it's green). I tried using the same soldermask UV cure ink in a different colour as "silkscreen" by exposing to an appropriate artwork, results were sub optimal, but perhaps more practice would have got a process that works (I may try again sometime).