Lightobject.com Support Forum

a tiny pcb ready to etch

and a panel for a flight sim cockpit

coasters for friends hand-fasting ceremony
and some miniature drawers for a chest of drawers

Hi,

I am curious about the method you used to make your PCB. Did you use a paint and engrave method? If you could provide details that would be great! I have been considering using my laser for PCB etching for a while, but haven't had time to experiment with it yet. I hear that some paints leave a residue after being engraved that can't be etched through.

tech_builder wrote:Hi,

I am curious about the method you used to make your PCB. Did you use a paint and engrave method? If you could provide details that would be great! I have been considering using my laser for PCB etching for a while, but haven't had time to experiment with it yet. I hear that some paints leave a residue after being engraved that can't be etched through.

Hiya

Yes big issues with residue but I cracked it, and it is simple beyond belief.

You are correct in the method.

I draw up the pcb in "layout 50" then I save the drawing out as a BMP
pop the BMP into Corel paint and use the fill brush to make the bit you want to etch away black and the bits you want to keep white..(I found clicking several times when "filling" sharpens the image a treat).

There are probably better ways But I am no expert with Corel.
I then open Corel draw and draw a box the exact size of the drawn board ..then import the BMP and stretch/shrink it to fit the box.

I Use normal fast drying satin black spray ..just one reasonably heavy coat.
Every paint I tried left awful residue and even doing a Google search showed only solvent removal methods ....and everyone claiming success (yeah right!!!) simply no good for fine tracks.

Engrave the bmp

now here's the cool bit (I tried dozens of different solvents)

Simply get a scouring pad with water and a little washing up liquid and literally just rub away the residue..(I have not yet taken a track away with this and I do quite a few boards for the flight simulator I am building. It turns out it really is that easy LOL!...I should do a You tube vid !

Hope this helps ..if you have questions please please ask.

Here's a pic of an etched pcb I made at the weekend (the thinnest track is .4mm) to give you some idea the whole pcb is 100mm x 160mm
Now I see people looking here I might put up a few of the more ambitious things I have made


John

here are a few things i've been making.











-christopher

swamidog wrote:here are a few things i've been making.

-christopher

You are very talented thanks for posting.

wmgeorge wrote:

swamidog wrote:here are a few things i've been making.

-christopher

You are very talented thanks for posting.

thank you! i've only had my machine running for about two weeks. it's been big fun building it and learning what it can do.

here's my newest project (laser lumia projectors):


i designed a 5x5" box in inkscape and cut it out of 3.2mm masonite:
i laser cut acrylic pieces for the motor support and lumia disk: fits like a glove: the small aluminum widget in the box corner is the mount for the laser diode module. i built two motor speed control circuits (one for each box): testing the electronics: i coated the wheels with blobs of clear silicon sealant to diffract/distort the laser light and create the lumia effect. in the dark they are quite stunning. laser light that is reflected off the lumia disk projects through the cut outs. the projected pattern on the ceiling. still photos and videos really don't do it justice. and here's some video of the green box in action:

http://youtu.be/E1EikLMzels

Really cool

I am jealous of your artistic ability..I have NONE !

John

here are a couple of new projects i've been doing:

i set up a raster engraving for the old standby zombie logo. and etched it at 15% power and 200mms/s into an old pair of jeans. i was a little concerned about getting the power levels and speed right but it worked like a champ! i started with a day of the dead design that i found online. i reworked it in illustrator to make it more suitable for laser cutting. it's really satisfying to lift material out of the cutter bed and have the cut bits retain their arrangement. i mixed a 1:1 ratio of bleach and water in a spray bottle. there's a piece of sheet metal inside the shirt so the bleach doesn't bleed to the back of the shirt. i spritzed the bleach water all over the shirt being totally unconcerned about uniform coverage. i let the bleach water soak in for about five minutes and enjoyed view of the moon from my back yard. i removed the stencil and rinsed all the bleach out of the shirt. how cool is that?

here are a couple more projects i'm working on.

this is a handmade spalted cottonwood frame that i've laser engraved with simplified barrier canyon style petroglyphs. the image in the center is a laser projected
petroglyph onto banded sandstone with laser lumia and gelled lights. i build laser projectors and program laser shows as one of my "hobbies".
and some laser engraved panels that will be sewn into a cape.
and, finally some glass etching.

Neat

You are a talented guy(?)

John

Guy is correct.

oh, and i made a trilobite because trilobites are awesome.

i've been pretty busy working on other projects and dealing with a day job that is also an evening and weekend job, but i managed to get in a little laser cutting time.

made a quick crop circle (3mm masonite):
engraved my logo on to an ether-dream laser show controller (i program laser shows, but that's another forum):

Can you post your work to other forums and menioned "LightObject"?
In return, I can offer store credits for parts you may purchase or $$ per post


Thanks
Marco