Modding a Clothes Iron for Better PCB/Enclosure Transfering

[mattthegamer463]

We all know about ironing transfers with a household iron, but I don't use mine for clothes and I would love to modify it to be a little better for doing boards and enclosures. 

I'm thinking attach a steel plate to the bottom for max flatness and no more steam holes, disabling the safety functions, anything else we could do?  Built in timer?

Anyone modded their iron already?

[Bullet79]

i think the iron is not the problem... (common bro.. who want to mod an iron..?)
actually how you prepare the blank copper board that count... one good tip from me; after light sand it with watever scotch-brite/steel wool.., wipe your board with paper towel+naptha (zippo lighter fluid) before ironing..

[brett]

Hi
critical things are flatness, high conductivity and low coefficient of friction.
The temperature control on most irons seem OK.  If you can borrow an infra-red thermometer, you can do some fine-tuning, but the "2 dot", or "wool" setting is about right on many irons.

Having done a lot of PnP PCBs, I can be fairly sure that PCB preparation is also a key to success.  Well-polished helps (toothpaste is terrific!).  At a minimum, run a piece of fine sandpaper (600 to 1200 grit) over the board.  Give the edge special attention to make sure there is no burr that will separate the iron from the PnP.
cheers

[spargo]

I may be the minority but this is how I do my transfers and get excellent results:

- Print transfer on thicker magazine paper (using 1200dpi on a Brother printer - some say these printers are bad for transfers, I have no complaints)
- Make sure to wear gloves so you don't touch the magazine paper
- Also wearing gloves, scrub the board good with scotch brite - I don't clean it with anything else, just scrub well and don't touch
- Heat board for 10 seconds on highest iron setting, then stick transfer on it
- Burn the heck out of it for 3-5 minutes with pressure - I even get great results with the board sitting on a towel on top of a text book
- Wait for board to completely cool, then soak in cold water for 2 minutes (found this to be an important step)
- Peel paper off board under water, and patch any mistakes with a sharpie before etching

Works great...

[Brymus]

Hi
critical things are flatness, high conductivity and low coefficient of friction.
The temperature control on most irons seem OK.  If you can borrow an infra-red thermometer, you can do some fine-tuning, but the "2 dot", or "wool" setting is about right on many irons.

Having done a lot of PnP PCBs, I can be fairly sure that PCB preparation is also a key to success.  Well-polished helps (toothpaste is terrific!).  At a minimum, run a piece of fine sandpaper (600 to 1200 grit) over the board.  Give the edge special attention to make sure there is no burr that will separate the iron from the PnP.
cheers

I agree
Flat ,well prepared,clean
Well sanded/rounded edges are VERY important.
No friction from iron/clean sheet of paper between iron and transfer.
I use alcohaul right before ironing,and I really like that my iron has a teflon base/heat element.
I also use a scotch brite pad (for between finishing coats) to scratch the surface slightly and give the toner a little more gripping power.
But I have also had great  succes without sanding the copper just using a polish and wipe with alcohaul.
So I cant confirm that the scotch brite is neccasary,but it doesnt seem to hurt.

[Bullet79]

  wish i had those greenish silkscreen thing like most factory manufactured pcb,..  with labels too... easier to populate...

[amptramp]

Some irons have a teflon coating on the bottom.  It will be difficult to get the toner (or anything else) to stick to the iron.  It needs no preparation, in fact, just leave it as is.

[Mark Hammer]

It's rarely the iron.

In my experience, there are essentially 3 things that matter, and on which everything hinges:

1) the state of the copper surface (smooth, shiny clean, no "finger juice",  etc.,)

2) the ability of the person to tell when the pattern has been successfully transferred

3) the ability of the person to wait until it has cooled down before peeling things off

#1 and #3 are actually pretty easy to learn to do, and #2 the hardest of them all.  One of the nice features of PnP is that the acetate sheet conforms to the pattern when heat is applied.  The acetate is thin enough, and the toner thick enough, that the acetate sags around every detail of the pattern when it has adhered to the copper and has been successfully transferred.  Shiny magazine stock is often probably thin enough to do that too, but unless you are working with something that is one solid colour, it can be hard to see the thoroughness of the transfer, in comparison to PnP.  Photo paper is the most difficult of the 3, since the paper stock is so thick that there is no discernible sag to use as a gauge of successful transfer.  I've done countless boards, a great many of them with photo paper, and while I have gotten more skilled at it, I still regularly need to touch things up with a pen.  The pattern may be exquisitely transferred across 80% but one edge of the pattern that looked "done" may have turned out to be spotty.

[Brymus]

I agree Mark the PNP is easy to see when its done as the acetate sheet turns clear,ect like you said.
With magazine paper its not so,
For me I found timing the transfer works best.
I count how long its been heated,for me 100 seconds is perfect,with the iron set on linen.

One important thing I do is I go around the outside edges one more time before calling it good.
Most of my fails were from not hitting the edges good enough.

Most important is practice,practice
Start with a simple design and if its not right use acetone or the like to remove the toner or PNP and try again.