Hi,
Is there any filaments that would work with an unmodified K8400 printer to be able to print conductive PCB boards for 5-12 V Arduino projects? Alternatively what other options do I have? Do I need to modify the 3D printer, or create my own CNC machine?
Hi Christian, not the answer you were thinking of, but when I think of all the time/money I have wasted creating PCBs, the best way for me is to use an outsourced service. Milling boards on a CNC machine is a real pain and consumes a huge amount of time. The printer toner transfer method works well but there is always touch-up and if your circuit gets dense enough, you will end up running some 0.006" tracks which are impossible (IMO) with home fabrication. The manual methods of PCB creation will leave you frustrated. If you need multiple layers… forget about it!
I have used pcbway.com for over a year now for all my PCB needs. For example, I loaded gerbers to their site last Monday evening 5/16. I received 10 boards in my hands on 5/23. This is their standard service. You can pay for expedited service. This particular board was gold plated and silk screened for $66 including shipping. That is great value and many times faster than DIY methods when you take into account all the time fixing up broken tracks, wiring up vias etc. Using an outsourced service you get plating, solder mask, plated vias etc. letting you focus on building and debugging the circuit, not hassling with a homemade board and broken tracks, manually soldered vias etc.
I love making things by hand and have designed and built a CNC machine which I use for other things… just not PCB milling any more!
Attached are some pictures of the latest boards I have had prototyped at PCBway.com. If you still want to proceed with DIY PCB fabrication, there are plenty of instructables on Instructables.com that will provide the guidance needed. As far as printing circuits on a 3D printer here’s a good example: http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printing-3D-Print-A-Solderless-Circuit-Board/
I hope this proves helpful to you!
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