25 Oct
2013
25 Oct
'13
3:58 p.m.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Flexible-Printed-Circuits/
Get some thin sheets of polyimide which have copper on one or both sides.
Polyimide is a yellow polymer with a high melting temperature and is
sometimes called Kapton. A common type of copper-coated polyimide is
DuPont "Pyralux" material.
Pyralux sheets come in many different varieties of polyimide thickness,
copper thickness and adhesive thickness (the "adhesive" is between the
copper and polyimide holding everything together.) Copper thickness is
given in oz per square foot, while adhesive and Kapton thickness is given
in mil (1 mil =0.001 inch).
Pyralux LF7062 (pictured) has 1/2 oz Cu, 1/2 mil adhesive and 1 mil
Kapton. This works OK but is a bit thin and crinkly for the printer to
handle.
LF9120 has 1 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 2 mil Kapton - seems to work best
in the printer
LF9210 has 2 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 1 mil Kapton - stiffer, but works
OK
Other options are double sided copper ( a sandwich of Cu/Kapton/Cu held
together with adhesive) and a roughened surface, denoted by R at the end
of the part number.
The roughened sheets and double sided sheet work OK. However, Pyralux with
2 oz or thicker copper can be difficult to feed to the printer, especially
if there is copper on both sides.
See if you can get a free sample from DuPont. Occasionally, Pyralux sheets
turn up on eBay.
Cut the Pyralux sheets to 8.5x11 or 8.5x14 inches with scissors or a
knife. Avoid smudging the copper with fingerprints or oil, which can block
the etch solution later. To protect the printer, try to keep the edges
relatively flat and free of burrs.
For direct printing on the copper film, locate a solid-ink printer. These
are commonly confused with laser printers, but instead print melted wax.
Unlike most inkjets, the wax makes a good protective layer for copper
etching, and unlike laser printers, solid ink printers don't rely on
locally charging the paper surface, which could be troublesome when the
paper is replaced by a copper sheet.
Some models are Tektronix Phaser 840, 850, 860, and Xerox Phaser 8200,
8400, 8500, 8560, and 8860. You might find one in an office. Most Phaser
models are regular laser printers, so check under the hood for the solid
ink blocks (pictured) if you're not sure.
If you don't have access to a solid ink printer, the "toner transfer" iron
on method, using a laser-printed design, could replace this step.
25 Oct
25 Oct
4:07 p.m.
New subject: flexible circuit board material works in wax-deposition printers!
FWIW I saw a very similar process being used with the laser cutter at NB to
produce some very cool PCB technology. This one is worth having workshops
on :)
On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Jake <jake(a)spaz.org> wrote:
http://www.instructables.com/**id/DIY-Flexible-Printed-**Circuits/<http:…
Get some thin sheets of polyimide which have copper on one or both sides.
Polyimide is a yellow polymer with a high melting temperature and is
sometimes called Kapton. A common type of copper-coated polyimide is DuPont
"Pyralux" material.
Pyralux sheets come in many different varieties of polyimide thickness,
copper thickness and adhesive thickness (the "adhesive" is between the
copper and polyimide holding everything together.) Copper thickness is
given in oz per square foot, while adhesive and Kapton thickness is given
in mil (1 mil =0.001 inch).
Pyralux LF7062 (pictured) has 1/2 oz Cu, 1/2 mil adhesive and 1 mil
Kapton. This works OK but is a bit thin and crinkly for the printer to
handle.
LF9120 has 1 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 2 mil Kapton - seems to work best
in the printer
LF9210 has 2 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 1 mil Kapton - stiffer, but works OK
Other options are double sided copper ( a sandwich of Cu/Kapton/Cu held
together with adhesive) and a roughened surface, denoted by R at the end of
the part number.
The roughened sheets and double sided sheet work OK. However, Pyralux with
2 oz or thicker copper can be difficult to feed to the printer, especially
if there is copper on both sides.
See if you can get a free sample from DuPont. Occasionally, Pyralux sheets
turn up on eBay.
Cut the Pyralux sheets to 8.5x11 or 8.5x14 inches with scissors or a
knife. Avoid smudging the copper with fingerprints or oil, which can block
the etch solution later. To protect the printer, try to keep the edges
relatively flat and free of burrs.
For direct printing on the copper film, locate a solid-ink printer. These
are commonly confused with laser printers, but instead print melted wax.
Unlike most inkjets, the wax makes a good protective layer for copper
etching, and unlike laser printers, solid ink printers don't rely on
locally charging the paper surface, which could be troublesome when the
paper is replaced by a copper sheet.
Some models are Tektronix Phaser 840, 850, 860, and Xerox Phaser 8200,
8400, 8500, 8560, and 8860. You might find one in an office. Most Phaser
models are regular laser printers, so check under the hood for the solid
ink blocks (pictured) if you're not sure.
If you don't have access to a solid ink printer, the "toner transfer" iron
on method, using a laser-printed design, could replace this step.
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4:26 p.m.
New subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] flexible circuit board material works in wax-deposition printers!
The laser process MIGHT work on Pyralux. This is what I was doing on FR4:
http://www.macetech.com/blog/node/81
Kapton is easily laser-cuttable, unlike FR4...but that's OK. The copper is still
intact at this stage and will protect the Kapton. In fact, you could use the paint
ablation/etch process to expose cut lines on the copper, and use the laser in a second
step to cut complex shaped flexible PCBs.
On Oct 25, 2013, at 4:07 PM, Praveen Sinha <dmhomee(a)gmail.com> wrote:
FWIW I saw a very similar process being used with the
laser cutter at NB to produce some very cool PCB technology. This one is worth having
workshops on :)
On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Jake <jake(a)spaz.org> wrote:
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Flexible-Printed-Circuits/
Get some thin sheets of polyimide which have copper on one or both sides. Polyimide is a
yellow polymer with a high melting temperature and is sometimes called Kapton. A common
type of copper-coated polyimide is DuPont "Pyralux" material.
Pyralux sheets come in many different varieties of polyimide thickness, copper thickness
and adhesive thickness (the "adhesive" is between the copper and polyimide
holding everything together.) Copper thickness is given in oz per square foot, while
adhesive and Kapton thickness is given in mil (1 mil =0.001 inch).
Pyralux LF7062 (pictured) has 1/2 oz Cu, 1/2 mil adhesive and 1 mil Kapton. This works OK
but is a bit thin and crinkly for the printer to handle.
LF9120 has 1 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 2 mil Kapton - seems to work best in the printer
LF9210 has 2 oz Cu, 1 mil adhesive and 1 mil Kapton - stiffer, but works OK
Other options are double sided copper ( a sandwich of Cu/Kapton/Cu held together with
adhesive) and a roughened surface, denoted by R at the end of the part number.
The roughened sheets and double sided sheet work OK. However, Pyralux with 2 oz or
thicker copper can be difficult to feed to the printer, especially if there is copper on
both sides.
See if you can get a free sample from DuPont. Occasionally, Pyralux sheets turn up on
eBay.
Cut the Pyralux sheets to 8.5x11 or 8.5x14 inches with scissors or a knife. Avoid
smudging the copper with fingerprints or oil, which can block the etch solution later. To
protect the printer, try to keep the edges relatively flat and free of burrs.
For direct printing on the copper film, locate a solid-ink printer. These are commonly
confused with laser printers, but instead print melted wax. Unlike most inkjets, the wax
makes a good protective layer for copper etching, and unlike laser printers, solid ink
printers don't rely on locally charging the paper surface, which could be troublesome
when the paper is replaced by a copper sheet.
Some models are Tektronix Phaser 840, 850, 860, and Xerox Phaser 8200, 8400, 8500, 8560,
and 8860. You might find one in an office. Most Phaser models are regular laser printers,
so check under the hood for the solid ink blocks (pictured) if you're not sure.
If you don't have access to a solid ink printer, the "toner transfer" iron
on method, using a laser-printed design, could replace this step.
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2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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Jake -
macegr -
Praveen Sinha