Circuit board masking with ABS from 3D printer

[Drew in Sunny Florida]

Anybody out there tried to put a copper clad circuit board on the build table and direct print the trace mask onto the copper with a MakerBot ???   I want to make some custom circuit cards and the toner transfer process leaves a lot to be improved upon.  Any suggestions welcome.  

[Joe Soap]

I haven't tried this, but I wouldn't expect the success rate to be particularly high.

In order to conduct electricity it will be necessary for the circuit board material to be conductive - and I don't think typical 3D printer products are. I am not aware of filament which is conductive - however others might suggest otherwise.

I wouldn't see a 3D printer lending itself to PCB printing. You would probably be better off getting a cheap CNC milling machine, load it with a PCB board covered with copper, and then using an engrave function to remove copper - to leave the circuit you want.

[Andrew Aurigema]

You have it backwards.  The copper is already on the board and I want to print the chem-milling resist onto the copper so what is under the restive ABS stays on the board and everything else dissolves away.  

And there is conductive filament but it is way to high in resistance for normal IC components.  

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[BTHOON]

I've tried this a couple times with no success.  The issue was that the filament would not stick to the board.  It was a catch 22.  If the board was clean enough to etch well, the filament wouldn't stick.  If the board was treated to allow the abs to stick, it would not etch (and the abs still didn't stick well)

Now that we have different filaments to work with, however, it might be that one of the more exotic filaments would stick better.  I haven't tried any lately, but anyone with a good piece of copper clad and some different filaments should give it a shot!

[Gregory Sullivan]

maybe do a negative and then spray the mask on and peal the abs/pla off. might want to try a .2 or.3 snozel... 

[Joe Soap]

I still wouldn't choose a 3D printer for this job. Etching circuit boards isn't really the domain of 3D printing. YMMV of course :)

[Matthew Perlman]

I also have been looking in to this, but have found little information. It seems to me that the trick should be to preheat the copper clad board almost to the melt point of the plastic you intend to print as resist material, and to pick a plastic filament with the stickiest properties during the print process.

If this is found to work I am looking to DIY build an oversized 3d printer; at least 14"X12"X12" print space.

[Andrew Aurigema]

I have actually done a lot more toner transfer processing since March and with the right glossy paper ( Office Depot specialty #30 thin glossy paper ) and a printer/copier that is happy to put toner on the paper and a serious thermal lamination machine ( able to operate at 325 deg F ) you can make very good circuit transfers.     

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