kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Øyvind Aabling <Oyvind.Aabling@xxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 3 Feb 2013, Andreas Beutling wrote:

> Hello Dick,
>
> thanks for the hints. The macro works good. The patch is attached.
>
> > (I will never use HPGL, and don't give a crap about it. If somebody just 
> > wants to fix it,
> > go ahead.
>
> Many old pen plotters use only HPGL. They can coat directly the PCB. For 
> these users (me too) is a accurate and fast HPGL plot important.
>
> Regards, Andreas

Hi Andreas.

Have I understood this correctly: You're using
a pen plotter to print directly on the PCB ?

Is this the etch pattern or the silkscreen,
and which type(s) of pen(s) are you using ?

I have a Roland DPX-3300 Drafting Plotter (ISO-A1/ANSI-D size !),
so I tried some years ago to transfer the etch pattern using the plotter,
but gave up, as I couldn't find any pens that worked reliably :-(

Either the ink wasn't etch (or even water) proof, the tip
couldn't withstand the abrasive copper surface, or it was
too wide, or the ink dried too quickly (causing clogging
when crossing already drawn lines), or all of the above ...

One thing I _did_ get working though, was to coat the entire board with
etch-resist ink, then scratch away the unwanted ink using the plotter.
I used the sharp tip from a pair of compasses/dividers, mounted
in a piece of "pen-shaped" aluminum (turned on a lathe).

Øyvind.

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