Make PCBs with a Plotter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: balu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 04:15:39 pm
content: Breadboards are great for prototypes and testing. In many cases I need more than this, but not a real PCB. My requirements are not so high. I need just single sided PCBs with a maximum dimension of approx. 3x4 Inch (80x100mm), because I use a free version of Eagle PCB Designer. I tested a lot of methodologies for homemade PCBs, but I’m looking for a simpler way – and make a find.Plotting the PCB layout direct on a PCBTwo months ago I bought an old HP7440A plotter. My first step was to make an interface cable between my laptop and the plotter. The plotter has a DB-25 female connector for the RS-232 serial interface. I use a simple USB to RS-232 adapter with no flow control.The Eagle PCB Designer provides the functionality to export layouts in hpgl and the plotter based on hpgl;-) But … I used a terminal program to send a hpgl-test-file to the plotter an I had a lot of problems:1. The “no flow control” and plotting speed issue- I have to reduce the RS-232 speed down to 300 Baud, because the plotter has very small loss data buffer and will loss data- Sending hpgl command lines in max. 200 lines cluster to prevent loss of commands- I must reduce the plotter speed to 15 cm/s (approx.. 6 Inch/s) with the hpgl command VS15;2. The plotter drawing pen issue- Selecting the right pen for PCBs – I use a Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor S (0.4mm, 0.016”) or F (0.6mm, 0,025”) – I use sodium persulfate for etching PCBs- Adapter for using the pen – I created with DesignSpark Mechanical a 3d model of the pen adapter and use my 3d printer to make the adapterTo reduce the effort of splitting hpgl files into 200-command-line-files and adapting the plotter speed I made a quick and dirty application with C#. The application load the hpgl-file, replace the SPn-Commands (SP: select pen) with VS15-Commands, remove all space characters and draw the layout in a graphic window with the sequence of hpgl commands. After connecting the plotter via RS-232/USB it is possible to plot the layout on a prepared PCB.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 04:45:49 pm
content: Potentially interesting.Are there any closeups of etched PCBs, and are there any (informal) design rules about what is and isn't possible?

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 04:49:18 pm
content: I wonder if you could turn this into a micro CNC.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 05:10:59 pm
content: Will not work as a CNC, as it really has no torque at all. It can just provide enough to move a pen on paper, not much more. Trying to get it to move against a milling cutter will be an exercise in futility and broken tips and boards.

author: Kalvin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 05:50:55 pm
content: I have always wanted to ask this: How about attaching a UV laser diode (with safe power level, of course) to the pen holder and "plotting" the pattern directly on the surface of the UV sensitive PCB? After that a quick development and etching.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 05:57:12 pm
content: Quote from: Kalvin on February 28, 2015, 05:50:55 pmhttp://youtu.be/4SNkzoOvoD8(and several others)

author: Kalvin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 06:25:15 pm
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on February 28, 2015, 05:57:12 pmRichard, thank you very much for the link. Few clicks away I found the answer to my question:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rLQajSRnELc#t=308Plotter and UV laser should work.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 07:01:44 pm
content: Quote from: Kalvin on February 28, 2015, 06:25:15 pmPotentially extremely dangerous.UV damages eyes; that's why sunglasses have UV specifications!More importantly,much less than 100mW will instantly and permanently blind you- and it doesn't matter whether that is direct exposure or a reflection off of a metal (e.g. copper) or glass.Now I really don't care if you blind yourself; that's merely evolution in action. But if you blinded an innocent third party passing by I would be extremely unhapppy. If you blinded me then I would commit suicide, since I am extremely deaf. But before that I would do everything in my power to ensure that you didn't pass your genes onto another generation. Seriously. Don't doubt it.

author: Kalvin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 07:28:39 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on February 28, 2015, 07:01:44 pmSafety first, I agree. I am always very worried too, when I see the videos on youtube where people are playing or experimenting with the lasers, and the system doesn't have the protective housing around it which would prevent accident from happening.

author: dave_j_fan
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 07:38:17 pm
content: lovely servo based plotter :http://youtu.be/kcXlak7RNV0

author: Cloud
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2015, 07:54:52 pm
content: And I tough I am the only one who tried to do thatCan I get the file for the pen holder?

author: balu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 01:34:52 am
content: I have made some examples. Just simple active BPFs, but made with SMDs and a layout with 0.4 mm (0.016 Inch) PCB tracks width. The result will fulfill my requirements. Because soldering of SMD parts with the size of 1206 and the pin spacing like SO8 is small enough for me. It is no problem to place a wire between the two resistor SMD pads.I have attached the 3d model of the pen adapter as files in DesignSpark-Mechanical and STL file format.I have no idea about the advantage of using a UV laser diode to create a PCB. After plotting the layout with the UV laser diode the PCB must be developed – this is one more step in the process to create a simple PCB. Possible advantage can be a more detailed and smaller structure – but I need just a simple prototype for my smallest parts with the size of 1206, SO8 etc. and this is no problem with this configuration.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 02:05:52 am
content: Is it possible to post close-up photos of the naked PCB after etching, i.e. no components? The current photos have the PCB obscured by components and we can't see the cuality of the tracks.That would help us establish how well the etch resist works.Thanks.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 02:50:04 am
content: Quote from: dave_j_fan on February 28, 2015, 07:38:17 pmThat looks really well done.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 03:28:03 am
content: I am genuinely impressed by the guy who made the UV plotter. Yes, it is dangerous, but there are these things called protective covers. He managed to make 5 mil traces without a sweat! That's fab quality. Now we only need a CNC drill and a via insertion robot

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 04:36:32 am
content: Quote from: Kalvin on February 28, 2015, 05:50:55 pmI was thinking the other day you could build a fully automated little PCB fabrication line this way. Setup a gantry that holds the PCB vertically, and passes the PCB between a pair of horizontal carriages with opposing laser diodes. The gantry then moves over and dips the PCB into a developer tank, then a rinse, then an etching tank, then a rinse, and voila, a double sided PCB ready for drilling. The mechanics should be pretty simple since the required speeds and forces are low, and only three axes are required if both laser diodes are driven by the same motor, and the movable gantry can be wiggled to provide agitation during developing and etching. With vertical tanks, you could do pretty good sized PCBs in a machine with the overall size about that of a 3d printer.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 09:33:31 am
content: Quote from: ivan747 on March 01, 2015, 03:28:03 amClearly the safety interlocks were completely ineffective!The trouble with these thing is that it is always unclear whether the operator realised the danger of these devices. 40 years ago in an industrial lab they used to scare new employees by showing films (not a video!) of how high power lasers "interact" with primate faces.Then there were signs everywhere saying things like "do not look at laser with remaining eye". I doubt there is much safety awareness/training supplied with something bought from a backsteeet shop

author: JuKu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 10:40:09 am
content: I wonder how a conductive ink pen on a plain fiberglass board might work?

author: balu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 11:11:49 am
content: Here is an example of using a UV laser diode to create PCBs. Sorry - the page in German language, but shows a lot of pictures and a video. I think the price and size is ok.http://www.insaneware.de/175mW-405nm-UV-Lasermodul-im-Lamellenkuehlkoerper-V3I will post ASAP some pictures of plotted and etched PCBs only to show the quality.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 11:56:43 am
content: Thanks for a great Topic. I have two HP plotters that I used for printing the output of my spectrum analyser. I have not used them for ages. Maybe this is a new application for them ? You have saved me a lot of time and experimentation.Aurora

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 01:14:46 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on February 28, 2015, 07:01:44 pmThere is no need use UV laser in the environment where humans areI see only one way to play with UV lasers in DIY constructions-everything in closed black box, as well as laser diode itself with covers isolating from environment, when main box is not closed to prevent any unexpected switch on of UV laser diode in the event of its circuit failure, etc.Additionaly visual camera close to laser diode holder to be able monitor whole ploting process without any glasses, on laptop screenI think, that such UV laser tool can be additional tool for small pick&place SMD machine, where we still need visual camera to look in top view where position elements on PCB, so just by changing tool from vaccum pump to UV diode (protected mechanicaly when not used from emiting any UV whatever electronics do), could be really nice thing.Using pens and classic ploter might work, but we quickly find it has many limitations, so probably small custom CNC where we could change tool to drill a few holes in manual mode just by insertingG-CodeCNC code is worth to spend some time to do something like this.I was thinking a while ago about using UV to plot PCBs directly and now its time to DIY such UV laser tool for custom PCB machine

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 01:44:42 pm
content: Quote from: eneuro on March 01, 2015, 01:14:46 pmLaser assemblies can be made safe, but many example photos and videos show very unsafe practices. IMNSHO any photo/video must have a written "health warning" stating what is necessary in order to use them safely.Inexperienced people canand willwatch the videos, and poorly duplicate what they see.They probably won't even realise the various dangers- until it is too late for them or someone else.

author: JuKu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 02:49:56 pm
content: Quote from: eneuro on March 01, 2015, 01:14:46 pm- Unless the alignment happens to be perfect: Ever seen what happens to a laser tube if it gets its own reflected beam back in, in phase?

author: Chris Jones
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 03:02:38 pm
content: Here is another way of using a laser to directly write on the photoresist:

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 03:23:14 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on March 01, 2015, 01:44:42 pmDo you have in 230VAC mains wall socket such warning messages, too?Nobody puts any metal parts into this socket-because everybody knows it could kill you.if you make something for your own use and make it difficult to switch on by accident, label with danger laser logo marks, than everybody knows that we have to be carefull and look into user manual if we are not familar with such device.There are many things that are dangers in everyday life, but if someone is not stupid, has a very big chance to survive...BTW: Many people do not duplicate ideas published onyoutube, but make it much better than shown in those videos, while has good understanding of physics

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 04:07:05 pm
content: Quote from: eneuro on March 01, 2015, 03:23:14 pmDon't make silly arguments: they don't do you any favour. I will assume you are not a troll, for the moment. For a start consider why people buy thesehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Child-Proof-Saftey-Socket-Protector/dp/B000XRUBBI/and then consider the more important points...If you can't understand the fundamental difference, it is this: 230V sockets arefamiliar, have been around for several lifetimes, and everybody sees them every day of their life. Hence everybody knows they are dangerous, however non-technical they are. Same with gas appliances. Same with crossing the road. OTOH lasers are new and rare and are not understood by "the man in the street". Very few people have the slightest idea of how little laser power it takes to blind you (0.1W laser << 100W light bulb therefore there can't possibly be any danger. Can there? Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to blind you. Please forgive me.).If you make a mistake with the mains, you suffer. If you make a mistake with a laser, an innocent passer by might be the one that suffers. I know of a case in W Germany where a young child stuck knitting needles into the live and neutral mains socket. He survived, but his palms were scarred for life.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 04:46:53 pm
content: Quote from: Chris Jones on March 01, 2015, 03:02:38 pmNow, finally a scheme that is actually BRILLIANT!There are 10,000s of those cheap laser printers with that kind of technology inside.I'll have to find someone to translate for me.

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 05:04:58 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on March 01, 2015, 04:07:05 pmMy neighbor has 6kW laser for welding and I know him and his family as well as friend who has very little technical knowledge, but nobody lost their sight, while they know that lasers are dangerous and special glasses are needed.I'm talking about precision laser soldering like in this video and such thing is a few hundred meters away from our yard ready to do precision work when needed, while we know each other from childhoodMan on the street won't find strong laser in toys shop, so he doesn't have to know anything about electronics, but how to turn on/off his crappy cell phone

author: mauroh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 05:28:45 pm
content: From several years I'm using a pen plotter to make my own pcb at home, see here:http://www.mauroh.com/pcbconplotter/pcbconplotter.htmIt is the fastest/cheapest solution I found to use the massive amount of bare copper boards I have.If I need high accuracy for a crowded smd board nothing beat the UV light box.Most probably I'm missing something but I'm not ghetting the point of using the laser plotter instead of the UV light box, although it is clever.Mauro

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 05:34:23 pm
content: Wonder what will happen if you take a standard HP laser engine and replace the IR laser with the BD one, then build only a single axis platen to run across it. Should be able to do the exposure in under 1 minute per A4 board. You might have to modify the scanner motor to run slower so you do not have to have a 400MHz processor just to keep up, or use the existing processor board as well and have a laser that accepts HPGL as well as PS for the input.A board printer that does double sided boards at 6 boards per minute.......

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2015, 05:54:55 pm
content: Quote from: eneuro on March 01, 2015, 05:04:58 pmAh, the "it hasn't happened to him therefore it won't happen to anybody" argument. Unimpressive. Symptomatic of a lack of critical thinking skills.Do you also suggest that, because your friend hasn't been knocked down crossing the road, we shouldn't tell inexperienced people to look and listen before crossing the road?QuoteSo what's your point?I haven't made any points specifically about your safety practices let alone your friend's.QuoteWhy on earth would toy shops be relevant to the point?All that matters is that "man on the street" can - and does -easilyobtain them. And some idiots point them at pilot's eyes for a joke, (temporarily) blinding them.Wheresomeone else'ssafety is at stake, it is negligent not to include suitable warnings at the earliest opportunity,beforethe danger arises.

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 09:04:52 am
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on March 01, 2015, 04:46:53 pmhttp://www.das-labor.org/wiki/LaserExposer1W 450nm blue Laser diode from ebay (40 Bucks) to replace the infrared one in the printer's assembly.laser housing and glas lens from ebay (15 Bucks)It looks like they replaced oryginal IR with UV laser diode and removed optics from rotating mirror providing ONLY glas lens to his new laser module, so somethinglike this happens in this setup:There is one problem with this: as thebeam length varies with the angleof the deflected laser beam, the focus of the laser lens would also have to be adjusted for each beam length. As this isn't done, thelaser gets blurry at the ends and the middle of the scanline. But this is not a problem in practice, as the image gets sharpAnyway, they got really quite good results, but had to add in practice new control software-I was expecting they used oryginal, but of course laser printer is much more complicated and no chance to use oryginal printer softwareSo, I do not know, controll of this bloody rotating mirror looks very complicated and it is amazing how they hit PCB with such quite high DPIHowever, if we have to buy this blue laser module with additional lens, maybe it doesn't make sense mess with this rotating mirror, but rather use 2 Axis LinuxCNC to drive this laser vertical (with small angle to avoid see its own laser beam) directly from PC, so we could use existing LinuxCNC software which converts G-Code to drive those stepper motors.The only problem is probably we'll end with slower UV printing when 2 axis LinuxCNC is used and probably this rotating mirror in oryginal laser printers have hardware advantage, but much more complicated setup.What about required UV laser power let say for 1 square mm (1mm^2) needed to make proper UV exposition-is it dependent on power of used laser, but what UV exposure profile is needed to make high quality PCBs?In thisHow to make a printed circuit board (PCB) using the UV light LED methodlooks like they managed this by a lot of experimentingThis instructable shows how to create well done PCB's using Ultraviolet light. It took us about 40 boards before we perfected our PCB, so we will share what worked and what didn't work.

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 12:59:18 pm
content: Hi,For you guys that are using 'pens' rather than lasers, what kind of pen are you using?I had started building an xyz table a while back for drawing on PC boards but got involved in other things before finishing it, and never got around to designing a pen yet either. Any ideas?

author: mauroh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 01:25:30 pm
content: Quote from: MrAl on March 02, 2015, 12:59:18 pmAny permanent marker will do the trick.I like the Stabilo OH PenMauro

author: ignamv
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 02:02:51 pm
content: Quote from: JuKu on March 01, 2015, 02:49:56 pmIncreased noise floor?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 02:38:14 pm
content: Quote from: eneuro on March 01, 2015, 03:23:14 pmBecause this is told to people from a very young age. However there are many dangers you are unaware off in certain situations. Many years ago I had to work in a chemical plant. Before I was allowed on site I had to pass a safety exam. There where many simple things that could go wrong like rooms without oxygen or build up of CO2 due to lack of ventilation.

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 03:23:33 pm
content: Quote from: MrAl on March 02, 2015, 12:59:18 pmProbably 3 axis machine will be better for UV laser too, while we can make classic trick- before any drawing-let manualy touch four corners of our PCB to ensure that control software will adjust any height differences in the case PCB is not perfectly perpendicular to vertical pen axis.Additionaly in UV laser tool version we can use bigger angle and let UV laser be reflected from PCB copper in direction which will minimalize beam back reflections and help compensate for PCB not perfectly lying on the table, while in DIY construction it will be difficult make those 3 axis perfectly perpendicular each other.Pen tool might be usefull too, but looks like very difficult to fill eg. solid 100mm^2 area with perfect pen coverage, so it might be usefull for simple projects where ONLY small percentage of PCB copper area is used in final circuitDo you have any "patents" for this-to fill large copper area with pen plotter? It looks like we shoud have at least two pens exchangable, but it leads to need for 4th axis or need to change pens before PCB drawing is finished...

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 03:46:26 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on March 02, 2015, 02:38:14 pmPrecisely.I hope eunero won't write similar things again. He hasn't responded to my response, so maybe he does have his tail between his legsOTOH he has made other statements about his neighbour with a 6kW laser not having problems

author: eneuro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 05:12:28 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on March 02, 2015, 03:46:26 pmI do not have time to write twice the same.Better focus howto achive smallest possible 1W UV laser beam in custom CNC machine and howto calculate optimum expousre time for given UV laser power per mm2 of PCB to get perfect results with this methodBTW: I f you feel frustrated UK weather, fly to Cyprus right now perfect temperatures... it will help you enjoy life and see light sources much less dangerous if you feel warm and heat from the sun at winter and let you forget about rainny windy days in UK

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2015, 06:53:19 pm
content: I'm with tggzzz on this one: the first 3 issues to solve when working with harmfull and dangerous radiation are:1) safety2) safety3) safetyFigure out how to make the enclosure in a way the UV cannot get out, research which eye and skin protection to use, read how to operate an UV laser safely, read about safety interlocks, etc. The people with the 6kW laser probably have a machine where all of this has been adressed properly. Cool they have a 6kW laser and know nothing about it but no doubt someone else did the hard thinking for them! Now just hope they are not going to mess with the safety interlocks and so on.I don't know where I read this story but here it goes: at some point a Chinese restaurant owner found it more practicle to have a microwave oven with a slot in the front so they wouldn't have to open the door all the time. Just shuffle the plates in and pull them out. Result: a couple of employees lost their hands / fingers and one women got permanently blind (the slot was as the same height as her eyes).

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2015, 04:54:12 am
content: Hi,My reply is mostly for posts #33 and #36, in regard to using a 'pen' of some type.Well in using a magic marker even by hand i found that it gives up at some point, where the ink dries a little at the tip and has to be 'restarted' on some clean surface before resuming the line drawing, even by hand.Is there a better marker than the 'Sharpie', the fine point?For larger areas i would do them by hand with a large tip Sharpie. I would not sweat that part because the line drawing is the most tedious to do by hand, not the 'fill in' with the larger marker. I would just draw a 'box' around the area to be filled, then later remove the board from the machine and fill in by hand. I dont need production quanities and dont mind filling in a little. I do like making larger areas when possible though so it saves on etchant solution.So, did you have this problem too when using a Sharpie or are the other markers that much better that they always write perfectly?

author: mauroh
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2015, 08:26:47 am
content: Quote from: MrAl on March 03, 2015, 04:54:12 amVery nice descriptionWhat I noticed is that the "ink dries a little at the tip and has to be 'restarted'" only if the tip overwrite on a dried paint on the board.This can be slightly reduced minimizing the overlaps and slowing the plotting speed.On large surface to be covered, it will be good to avoid the final drawing of the outline of the area.Hope someone will come with a suggestion for a perfect ink that solve this issue.At the moment I can live touching up a bit the plotted board before the acid bath.Mauro

author: tomizett
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 03, 2015, 07:26:01 pm
content: Hi All,A little while ago I got hold of an old Tally wide format dotmatrix printer - after pondering what to do with it for a while I decided that it should become a PCB plotter.In the same way as the original poster, I plot directly onto copperclad (the Stabilo OHpen is my favourate - I found it to give thicker coverage than the Staedtler). Part of my motivation was to avoid the additional expense of photoresist versus plain copperclad, as well as the additional scope for error in the exposure process.My ideal machine would be a mill which would cut tracks directly and do the drills, thus completely eliminating chemicals and their attendent mess/ploution etc. I'm using FeCl by the way - takes an age without a heated etch tank, and I think that a better result could be achieved with a faster etch - this giving the etchant less chance to soak through the resist pen.The results a just about aceptable, but certainly beat no PCB at all! I do everything on a 0.1" grid, doing only through hole work so far. There is quite a lot of backlash in the "paper feed" axis, which is really the limiting factor for acuracy, while the finest pitch is limited by the thickness of the pen tip.I re-used the original motor driver ICs, but built my own control circuitary. The MCU on the plotter handles the primative PEN UP, PEN DOWN, MOVE XY actions, and a host programme on the PC hands out the instructions. As this was a bit of a quick lashup, the easiest format for me to read in was DXF (drawing exchange format) so I'm currently doing all my PBC layouts in a general purpose CAD package!I've just taken some photos of it to share with you, but I'm damned if I can get them off the camera. I'll do it at work tomorrow and upload them then.Interesting thread (interesting forum)... Thanks.(edited for typos)

author: balu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 06:10:41 pm
content: Hello All,I’m back and I have made a new PCB with my plotter. This PCB is just for a simple splitter and amplifier which I need for a PoC. The first picture shows the plotted PCB. I use a Staedtler permanent Lumocolor pen (Size: F, 0.4mm). The second picture shows the PCB after etching with the leavings of the color of the pen. The last picture shows the final PCB (white spots are reflection of light).

author: Refrigerator
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2015, 04:44:37 pm
content: Nice !

author: PCBaby
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2016, 08:20:56 am
content: Hello.I know the topic is 120+ days old, but I didn't want to start a new one for exactly the same subject.Did anybody here have a recent experience with the below type of products, which seem to correspond exactly to the title of the topic ?https://agic.cc/en/education_hobbyandhttps://agic.cc/en/industrialSolutions allowing direct "conductive ink" printing seem to exist now.

author: C
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2016, 09:44:16 am
content: HP7440A plotterThis does support hardware handshake.will support XON/XOFF if programmedYou might like[urlhttp://www.retrocomputing.net/parts/hp/colorpro/docs/docs.htm]

author: CaveMannDave
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2016, 10:53:11 am
content: Quote from: mauroh on March 03, 2015, 08:26:47 amInk jet?Lots of them around. Adapt for flat bed and change ink/travel speed for good coverage.What about Vinyl cutters? Small, cheap, programmable.Cut RubyLith or similar material on backing substrate, peel waste and transfer to copper.Or spin-coat copper with resist, engrave isolation (Think: Fine servo Z axis to JUST touch foil), then etch.Cheers,Dave

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2016, 02:15:57 pm
content: Here's one I knocked together when I was young and enthusiastic, it's good for front panels too. Needless to say I haven't used it in ages.P.S. Just as a side-note it's based on a very old manual drafting tool which used various width scribers to remove ink from a coated acetate sheet for photo etching. It was completely manual - the operator actually had to turn the X and Y knobs to move it!