@kaf For some laminators you have to modify, indeed, as is the case presented by Mr.Carson of his. For the others, you can just loose some screws that compress springs to create pression on upper roller(s). It depends of the type of laminator.
@kaf Depends on the laminator. The apache AL13P2 you simply turn the screws a few turns. The instructions for this came with the kit. The previous laminator I had needed mechanical modification
@robotwizard what kit are you referring to? If there’s a circuit designed for a certain laminator, I’ll buy one and install the kit your speak of. I wouldn’t mind having a laminator, just didn’t want to design a circuit for it myself.
@ke8uyv-shawn I too did hear him say about doing this, but sure he has many irons in the fire.
For people just starting out, does leave one wondering what to buy.
Around back in the day, I was looking to use my CNC machine to make my boards, but that fell by the wayside and now I am back to make some boards.
Right now I am working to even do SMD soldering and got some practice kits to play with.
I have removed some SMD using hotair to remove some 402 SMD and that was fun and easy, but sure can disappear.
Larry – N7LUF
@robotwizard what kit are you referring to? If there’s a circuit designed for a certain laminator, I’ll buy one and install the kit your speak of. I wouldn’t mind having a laminator, just didn’t want to design a circuit for it myself.
https://hackaday.io/project/3363-apache-al13p-tl-320b-one-pass-pcb-toner-xfer/details
Larry – N7LUF
I missed this thread so I will respond in general. I personally built my second PCB laminator not long ago. I managed to get my hands on the same model Paul uses, and since I missed some issues during my first build, I had to make myself a new laminator. So to my experience:You definitely have to extend the travel of those rollers. Most PCBs will fit without this, BUT the pressure on the rubber in combination with high temperature breaks the connection between the roller hub and the silicone itself. This results in the rollers slipping as soon as the laminator heats up. That was the reason I had to build the second one.
The model Paul uses is very well suitable for this job. There are brass bushing on both rollers pre-tentioned with nice steel springs. The main gear is metal. There is quiet a lot of space inside. There is also a part which can be used to hold the temperature sensing diode against the roller.
All in all I added fans to cool both of the side blocks and one more fan for the electronics. Most importantly I built and installed a temperature regulator. It takes a little longer for the device to heat up, but it makes PCBs like a charm. Moreover it is very safe. I tried to leave it turned on for almost two hours ans it only got warm on the outside.
In the picture, there are both of my builds, but the first (White) one was stripped of some parts for the new one.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rc7NtD4BHwWNEnmbA
@honzam The key thing is still what would be the best laminator to buy.
Metal gears and what would handle the PCB.
What some have bought are not easy to find.
I have seen some on Ebay used,but again not knowing what a good price to pay is another problem for a used outdated machine.
Maybe Mr. Carlson will come up with something for us.
Larry – N7LUF
@larry_n7luf HI Larry after some trial and error the best that worked for me wasa simple 200° temperature switch online with the elements (same kind of switch you would use as I high limit in a dryer etc ) . Not sure if we can post pic or videos yet but I will as soon as I can
You can (for the moment) only post links to a cloud based service that would lead to a picture. That you can surely do 100%
@larry_n7luf HI Larry after some trial and error the best that worked for me wasa simple 200° temperature switch online with the elements (same kind of switch you would use as I high limit in a dryer etc ) . Not sure if we can post pic or videos yet but I will as soon as I can
You can share a link to you pictures and video.
Just not room here on this site for pictures or videos.
I have a machine coming in today that goes to 200C and the reviews has said it works great for PCB.
I have VEVOR coming and the wife said I could not use hers machine.
Larry – N7LUF
@larry_n7luf Good luck. I have had good luck with Vevor in the past (vacuum chamber sealer).
I’ve had good results using an unmodified SM-330 laminator – which they still make. Another key point to ensuring good transfer is to print on a glossy photo paper that’s not too heavy – 120GSM seems to work well.
I did about a dozen passes or so and then soaked the board in water and achieved a solid transfer! A fairly quick process once you get it down!
Printer: HP 1320
Laminator: SM-330
You’ll also want to let the laminator warm up beyond just the “green ready light” – the idea hear is to really let the rollers heat soak. I would suggest letting your laminator warm up for 20 minutes or so.
My old laminator would only do up to 5 mil sleeves – I found this laminator go never get hot enough. If you can’t find the SM-330 look for one that has metal gears and will do up to 10mil sleeves.
Hi,
I purchased this one off Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091BS1F5B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
It works well for one sided boards. For double sided, you have to hold the transfer film in place until the heat sets both sides of the sheets to the PC board. Usually after one or two passes, the sheets are stuck down well and you don’t have to hold them in place. I tried other laminators, and the rollers would not take a thick PCB. This one will. This one also gets nice and hot without modifying the machine.
I’m just wondering, what tools are you using to trim the PCB down to size after etching it?
I got myself a VEVOR 4-Roller System & Temperature Adjusting & Metal laminating machine. This machine is heavy at 12 pounds and do not believe there is no plastic.
Now to keep my fingers crossed that it will do the job.
The heat is outside of the rollors, with elements on the top and bottom. If wanted, I can take a picture of the elements.
They say it is Max. Thickness: 1 mm/ 0.04 in, but seem like it would take more.
Working Temperature: 100 °C-200 °C / 212℉-392℉
Here is some pictures https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNsk2BsAp7iTFIZqUvWhRC-uwKjjcJfFETx3TDW
Under the cover https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOV251_KXKiulDtQyqHCwLCqcooIZ3vI0vZGi4u
Interesting https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMtRo33TtXT5AWhLtKfe7DpSzXHwnh0904DUaA8
Control https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNlWIj31m8TRVFvWj3pQmVa5CLXyFYHN5KEwo9q
Like anything from China, if you buy one, you do it at your own risk.
Larry – N7LUF
Unfortunately none of the attached links work at my end. So, I’m not sure what’s going on there. It says “Google 404 Error. The URL address not found!”