On Thursday 22 February 2007 21:05, Zach Hoeken wrote:
> Hey guys, I posted a thread in the forums about an article i wrote
> about the future of reprap and making its own circuits.... i'd love to
> get some feedback.
>
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I just read it. Your article
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makes sense. It neatly summarizes a lot of ideas we've discussed at length in
the old mailing list. You could probably pad it with a lot of links, and
discussions of prior art, but I don't know if this is necessary at this
point.
Thoughts:
Milling Head Route
Adrian and Ed said that the frame for darwin is pretty solid, so this seems
likely. I'm assuming an accuracy of .1 mm / 4 mil. That said, I'm in more
of a try-it-and-see mood than an armchair fabrication mood right now.
Etching / Resist Route
Using ABS as a resist sounds quite plausible, but what about using good old
caprolactone? After etching, use a steamer / tub of hot water and a
scrubbing pad to remove it. This way you don't have to deal with acetone.
I seem to remember this has been tried. Please forgive my cryptoamnesia if
this is the case.
Placing Components
I would title this Pick And Place.
Ink Resist
This is certainly a drawing bot, but such machines are also called plotters.
SMT Method
I think we'll have people developing a SMT variant fairly soon, for a variety
of reasons, the primary ones being cost and PNP. It will be a minor and
acceptable bit of work making sure the conventional component and SMT boards
work with the same firmware, and are up-to-date with each other.
Also, I wonder if it would be possible to use a reprap-mounted soldering iron
solder down pnp'ed parts. Probably not, but it would be easy enough to try.
More plausible then positing a reprap-mounted laser.
Fields Metal Deposition
You state that "it also doesn't lend itself well to automated pick and place
processes." You may wish to elaborate.
I've read some fluffy articles about conductive and semi-conductive polymers
recently. I'll let you guys know if I find out anything useful.
Nice little write-up Zach. Since this a wiki, I should go in and implement
these suggestions.
-Sebastien
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