• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Using a plotter to print PCBs on... paper

O

Oscar

Experienced Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2003
Messages
206
Location
Switzerland
Hi,

It is a bit off-topic as regards to Vintage Computing, but for the homebrewers among us this is, I think, a pretty spectacular development: using a plotter with conductive-ink pen to homebrew PCBs.

See here (link) - the video at 3:20 shows the idea in practice.

May not be perfect, but I can't wait to build a basic CP/M machine this way...

Regards,

Oscar.
 
Chuck,

Chuck(G) said:
I posted this back in November. I wonder what the difference is.
Click to expand...

Ah. Well, one difference is that I missed that post...

But this one is simpler I think. It's just a quick-drying conductive-ink pen coming to market. And someone then managed to wedge it in to a normal plotter. Apparently, the pen is good enough to really plot reliable traces.


Regards,

Oscar.
 
PCB trace silver repair pens have been around for ages. Here's an example. Not the cheapest way to go--and I don't think the Maker product will make double- or multi-sided PCBs very simple. I wonder what the lifetime of the product is--silver is reactive with hydrogen sulfide present in the air (it's what causes your silverware to tarnish).
 
Yes, but not so much the oxygen as the sulfur in the air. Silver sulfide is what Jeeves spends his time polishing off. Compare silverware or other silverplate when stored in a cupboard in Moose Jaw to one stored in a similar cupboard Galveston (or in a house where a lot of beans is consumed). The Galveston-stored silver tarnishes much, much faster.

Silver sulfide
 
Yes, of course, but without the Oxygen there can be no reaction to form the silver sulfide. :) Oxygen is an integral part of this reaction. Chemistry is not usually WYSIWYG!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top