Brads Electronic Projects Forum

That is just fantastic!

I don't have $1500 to spend on one, but wouldn't it be so great to design a PCB and then have the ability to print it out right at your desk!

I have just received a batch of 5cm x 5cm boards from iteadstudio this week which took about 2 weeks to get here from the date I placed the order. I made one little mistake on them so even though it is cheap to get them made, they still take 2 weeks!

I am wondering how much that device will cost to print a circuit board and how much is maintenance.

Thats a very good point Chuck, I have a 3D printer and I have had to buy various parts to keep the thing running, I would imagine that a PCB printer would be quite a bit more expensive for parts.

brad wrote:Thats a very good point Chuck, I have a 3D printer and I have had to buy various parts to keep the thing running, I would imagine that a PCB printer would be quite a bit more expensive for parts.

We have copiers at work and the manufactures use plastic gears.
We were told to keep the copiers air-conditioned by the service company and the climate contributes to how copiers break and they seemed to break more often after a holiday.

Store your paper on shelves or pallets or in cabinets rather than right on the floor to avoid moisture absorption. Choose an area that's protected from extreme temperatures and humidity. Temperature and humidity are critical factors in how Xerox paper performs in your copier or printer.

http://www.xerox.com/printer-supplies/p ... /enlu.html

Plastic gears break over a period of time and they have to be replaced.

In order to control costs, it might be better to either have a maintenance contract or go with a company responsible for the boards.

brad wrote:That is just fantastic!

I don't have $1500 to spend on one, but wouldn't it be so great to design a PCB and then have the ability to print it out right at your desk!

I have just received a batch of 5cm x 5cm boards from iteadstudio this week which took about 2 weeks to get here from the date I placed the order. I made one little mistake on them so even though it is cheap to get them made, they still take 2 weeks!

I just realized something.

You could make a board with it but what it lacks is an X-Ray machine.
If I had a board made by certain companies, they X-Ray the solder looking for cracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_X-ray_inspection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_grid_array
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rework_%28electronics%29

So if you make anything serious, it requires X-Ray inspection. Otherwise, the board would be okay to make.

Ball Grid Array chips are very common these days and they certainly need x-ray inspection because there is no other way of seeing if it's soldered properly!