Press-n-Peel Problems
Gary Richardson
been very successful. The problem is that after transferring the
mask to the copper layer (with a hot iron), not all the mask areas adhere to
the board when the film is pulled off. The mask areas that do adhere
are stuck to the board very well; I really have to work at it to clean them
off after the board has been etched. I have followed the instructions
closely: I remove all burrs from the edges of the board; I clean the board
with steel wool and then wash it well with soap and water, carefully dry it
and handle it by the edges while positioning the printed film. I've tried
various temperature settings of my iron and duration of heating without any
noticeable improvement. I use a fairly new HP LaserJet 1200 set to the
"Best Quality" setting to print the film. I also quench the board/film
combination under cold water before peeling the film off.
Is this a common problem or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks,
Gary Richardson
James Meyer
>I've been trying to make some PC boards using Press-n-Peel Blue and have not
>been very successful. The problem is that after transferring the
>mask to the copper layer (with a hot iron), not all the mask areas adhere to
>the board when the film is pulled off.
After the last cleaning step, dip the board briefly into your favorite
etching solution. If the surface turns from shiny copper color to a pink haze
that is consistent over the entire board then it's clean enough to continue with
the pressing step. If it isn't, clean again until it is.
The quick etch will also leave a microscopic roughness that improves
adhesion.
Wash the etchant off of course.
You might want to try an alcohol rinse after the soap and water wash.
Some soaps can leave greasy films.
Jim
Leon Heller
"Gary Richardson" <ga...@fidalgo.net> wrote in message
news:ve6t38i...@corp.supernews.com...
Try going over the board with the back of a teaspoon just after ironing,
whilst it is still hot, to make sure that all the resist has been
transferred. Don't press too hard or you will spread the tracks.
Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
leon_...@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller
Active8
leon_...@hotmail.com says...
that's a real good idea. i recall reading that steel wool is not
recommended due to the scratches, so i used non-abrasive cleaner and
etchant to clean the board. but without the spoon trick, i've had to use
extra pressure on the tip of the iron and extra ironing time to get fine
lines to adhere which can cause them to turn out wider which is not good
for uStrip lines. even then, large ground plane areas would need
touching up with a permanent marker which makes a great etch resist pen.
mike c
>
Fernando
I had a good one experiences when I began to use in the cleaning steel wool
in rotative movements.
Fernando
Active8 <mcol...@earthlink.net> escreveu nas notícias de
mensagem:MPG.194dd089a...@news.earthlink.net...
Alan
> On Sun, 8 Jun 2003 10:36:31 -0700, "Gary Richardson" <ga...@fidalgo.net> wroth:
> You might want to try an alcohol rinse after the soap and water wash.
> Some soaps can leave greasy films.
>
> Jim
Instead of alcohol for the rinse and after etching clean, try
acetone. It melts toner like mad so makes the final clean very easy,
and seems to be better than alcohol for getting soap and fingerprints
etc off. Still do the etchant and rinse before ironing, but acetone
is great for the other clean up..
Alan
Ben Jackson
Gary Richardson <ga...@fidalgo.net> wrote:
>I've been trying to make some PC boards using Press-n-Peel Blue and have not
>been very successful. The problem is that after transferring the
>mask to the copper layer (with a hot iron),
Try a laminator. Make sure the one you get will accept something as thick
as a PCB.
Also, as others have said, acetone is what you need to get rid of toner.
--
Ben Jackson
<b...@ben.com>
http://www.ben.com/
derwood
> In article <ve6t38i...@corp.supernews.com>,
> Gary Richardson <ga...@fidalgo.net> wrote:
> >I've been trying to make some PC boards using Press-n-Peel Blue and have not
> >been very successful. The problem is that after transferring the
> >mask to the copper layer (with a hot iron),
>
> Try a laminator. Make sure the one you get will accept something as thick
> as a PCB.
>
> Also, as others have said, acetone is what you need to get rid of toner.
i've had that problem as well, but just because i didn't clean off the
surface oxidation before ironing, i found that using just water and a
greenie meanie to clean the copper to a uniform rawness was all it
took. i didn't need acetone or anything. good luck.