Printing one off circuit boards at home

Daox · 02-03-21, 11:54 AM

I watch a lot of 3d printing stuff as I do a lot of 3d printing. Youtube suggested this one and I thought it was pretty cool. Not my cup of tea as I don't work with electronics much, but I'm sure some of you will like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u4izLA-SCo

pinballlooking · 02-03-21, 01:49 PM

I agree Very cool.

MN Renovator · 02-03-21, 09:34 PM

Definitely cool, I think I'll stick with layering a thick height sandwich of Proto-Pasta Electrically Conductive PLA between a print and calling a PCB. I'm seeing about 400ohms resistance over a 2 inch spread of stacked 0.16mm layer lines in a non-PCB print. It's reasonable for low voltage and not high current applications. PCB prints being flat, I'd say grab your 1mm nozzle and print at a .32mm layer height and have a pause, swap filament to conductive, you could print your multiple internal PCB layers ...or could be on the surface too, a top layer would be easiest to print, but this allows multiple layers. A large continuous print line would be most conductive. Little LED stuff and battery powered stuff often is handled well with this stuff. There are other conductive products out there, an ABS in Europe and a TPU I heard about, but I was able to pick this stuff up at a local MicroCenter. $50 for a 500 gram spool is a little spendy, but it's a premium product that generally doesn't need much laid down to do the job.

If you ever want to print with this stuff, I recommend 60c bed, 230 max print temp(225 and slowing down is better), it doesn't like being pumped fast, I use .16mm layers(0.4mm nozzle) and it prints reliably at 30mm/sec but will skip an extruder occasionally at 35. I think it might be best at a thick layer on top or embedded in print if it is PCB style. You'd probably need to slow way down for a 1mm nozzle and .32 layers though. It's slow like PETG. ..if you heat this stuff up to rush it, it WILL clog your nozzle. It also will take a few grams of material to stop staining your next prints too, Carbon Black is a little insidious. I have a glow in the dark turtle I printed that's filled with black marks in the first 5mm.

02-03-21, 01:49 PM	#2
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I agree Very cool. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

02-03-21, 09:34 PM	#3
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 940 Thanks: 41 Thanked 117 Times in 91 Posts	Definitely cool, I think I'll stick with layering a thick height sandwich of Proto-Pasta Electrically Conductive PLA between a print and calling a PCB. I'm seeing about 400ohms resistance over a 2 inch spread of stacked 0.16mm layer lines in a non-PCB print. It's reasonable for low voltage and not high current applications. PCB prints being flat, I'd say grab your 1mm nozzle and print at a .32mm layer height and have a pause, swap filament to conductive, you could print your multiple internal PCB layers ...or could be on the surface too, a top layer would be easiest to print, but this allows multiple layers. A large continuous print line would be most conductive. Little LED stuff and battery powered stuff often is handled well with this stuff. There are other conductive products out there, an ABS in Europe and a TPU I heard about, but I was able to pick this stuff up at a local MicroCenter. $50 for a 500 gram spool is a little spendy, but it's a premium product that generally doesn't need much laid down to do the job. If you ever want to print with this stuff, I recommend 60c bed, 230 max print temp(225 and slowing down is better), it doesn't like being pumped fast, I use .16mm layers(0.4mm nozzle) and it prints reliably at 30mm/sec but will skip an extruder occasionally at 35. I think it might be best at a thick layer on top or embedded in print if it is PCB style. You'd probably need to slow way down for a 1mm nozzle and .32 layers though. It's slow like PETG. ..if you heat this stuff up to rush it, it WILL clog your nozzle. It also will take a few grams of material to stop staining your next prints too, Carbon Black is a little insidious. I have a glow in the dark turtle I printed that's filled with black marks in the first 5mm.