The Shop > Metal Stuff
Electro Engraving Problems
vtsteam:
Yesterday I tried one more method of printer resist transfer -- heating the plate under rather than ironing through on the top. The results were better than before, but not nearly good enough. This is again with the materials at hand. The new materials are due here by the first of Feb or so.
My suspicion is that the film photoresist method has the best chance of solving the problems encountered so far in doing this fine-lined job. I believe that the other methods tried work well for larger area images -- artwork and signs and such. But this particularly demanding thread chart application isn't well suited for those.
AdeV:
--- Quote from: Pete. on January 23, 2021, 09:54:10 AM ---Ade I have a huge sheet of reclaimed brass if you need some. I think it's 18 or 16 gauge. IT's got cotact adhesive one side and (unbelievably) brown paint the other but it comes up well with some careful scraping of the glue and rubbing with scotchbrite.
--- End quote ---
Hi Pete,
I would definitely be interested in a bit of that at some point.... I've got a few brass plates on the lathe that need re-making, due to wear and tear, I'll ping you some sizes over in a day or so, they're only little...
mattinker:
Adev,
If your making MkI Edgewick plates, could you make two of the one on the top of the saddle, the thread indicator one? I will of course pay!!
Cheers, Matthew
PekkaNF:
Apparently white vinegar works for aluminium:
I too have ben working with some laser print transfer materials. I used to use standard HP printer with standard HP color cadridge and no paper would work with it. However brand print trancparency film worked fine, but need a clothes iron to transfer image. Standard laminator just does not have enough heat, I read from several sources that you need 180C to fuse the dye.
I still have the same old lasr printer and bought a new color cadridge, not HP and not the cheapes one, but mid priced generic. Transparency film does not work any more, but fun fact is that super glossy and coated paper works almost fine with a the same laminator.
I got some chinese yellow transfer paper and it seems to work most of the time ok. Not great for surface mout but ok with trough hole system.
I am thinkking of getting a 100€ T-shirt picture transfer press for this purpose, they should provide enough heat and pressure to get work done....or try UV option again...or try gardening instead.
vtsteam:
I received the blue Press-N-Peel sheets yesterday. These are supposedly designed for laser printer transfer to printed circuit boards. Pricey stuff, $3+ per sheet. I bought 5.
Well that was a mistake. The first sheet I tried disappeared into my Dell 1250c laser printer (Xerox Phaser 600b engine) and never returned. :scratch:
Removing all the user access covers for clearing paper jams failed to disclose its location. :bang:
Shining a strong flashlight into the back cover grill showed a thin sliver of blue trapped in the (well guarded) fuser rollers. The entire sheet was compressed into a space a couple mm wide (see I can use metric). :bang:
After a fair amount of internet research uncovering some approximate anecdotal advice I managed to take off the retaining bezels defeating most of the devilishly clever hidden plastic retaining hooks catches and pivot points, only breaking one or two in the process. And finally loosening the entire top case of the printer for access. :bang:
The plastic grill (still attached) covering the fuser roller was bent back far enough to insert a hemostat and clamp onto one bit of the blue transfer sheet. I gradually worked it out through the top of the grill.
Released and expanded it looked like the side panel of an accordion. I have never seen a worse paper jam. Well it's not paper, actually, it's very thin plastic film, super shiny on one side. Who in their right mind thought that this kind of thing would pass through a laser printer intact? Including me? Why didn't I go......hmm, that'll never work, let's not take a chance? But nope, I just ran it through, thinking gee this stuff says it works..... I'll soon have a brass etched plate, now.....Duh! :wack:
Okay, folks..... don't buy Press-N-Peel transfer sheets unless you enjoy "Pressing" hidden plastic fasteners in your laser printer's construction a"N"d "Peeling" crumpled plastic film out of its fuser rollers. :dremel:
Luckily my printer wasn't damaged (other than the broken catches) and I was able to print again on real paper after the fiasco. What a blivet. :zap:
Caveat emptor.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version