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This is the output of the bitmap-to-pcb converter. It keeps all the
pixels near the edges, but removes half of the ones in the "field".
I've modified my gutenprint config file to print at maximum ink
density, which would be too much ink if I didn't remove half the
pixels. By leaving the edge pixels in and manually dithering the
field, I get a clean edge without too much ink. The bitmap resolution
is 2880 DPI, which matches my printer.
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This is a sample of 5/5 rules - 5 mil lines with 5 mil space.
Although the printer is mechanically incapable of aligning dots within
better than 1 mil accuracy, it's good enough for my purposes. There
is enough clear to ensure an exposed film, and enough dark between to
ensure that the copper is etched.
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Same, but 6/6 rules. Note that these photos were taken with a
microscope, lit from underneath the film - so the speckles you see are
spots where the ink isn't quite as solid as other places. Should be
OK though, but we'll see. At least the speckles are away from the
edges - they're due to the pixels we removed earlier.
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A sample via. This is a 13.5 mil hole and a 13 mil wide annulus. The
trace is 12 mil. The pad is for an 0603 part.
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I tried a print without the dithering - i.e. full ink. Seems
to have worked, but then again, this is SilkJet film.
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Likewise, on the 5/5 traces.
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Likewise, on the 4/4 traces. At this point, the printer's ability to
accurately feed paper is starting to show - that's what causes the
"comb" effect on the vertical stripes (the film is viewed so its feed
was left-to-right). Note that this varies from print to print; the
5/5 and 6/6 lines on this particular print show similar combing,
whereas the 5/5 in the photo above shows less.
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Likewise, on the 3/3 traces. It will be interesting to see how that
film and copper stand up through etching.
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This is the resulting etch from the 4/4 traces. The photos are
vertical stripes (relative to the printer) on top, horizontal below,
and front-lit on the left and back-lit on the right. Front-lit shows
that the traces are well-formed, but back-lit shows the shorts from
the thin bits of unetched copper. Another couple of minutes in the
tank probably would have made this near-perfect.
Note: the board has been tinned with Liquid Tin; next time I'll leave
it untinned incase the tinning process affects the quality of the
edges. I wouldn't think so, but at these sizes, it's best to be sure.
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Compare with the larger 12 mil traces elsewhere on the board. Despite
the inkjet's ragged edges, the copper edges are well-formed. I give
credit to the photomask. Note that the relative sizes of trace vs
line, here and above, is equal - so no need to adjust the edges.
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Some vias. The holes are 8 mil, but you can see that all the edges
are well-formed and smooth. The vias really are round; the microscope
software doesn't give me the right aspect ratio.
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Example of a 5/5 etch. The design has a 5 mil line going between two
13 mil pads, with 5 mil spaces. The actual copper is a 3 mil line
with 6.5 mil spaces, and 10.3 mil pads. So, I need to bloat the edges
by about 0.8 mil to get it to etch correctly. The pads are for an
0.5mm pitch CSP chip.
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This is the mask for the CSP (different run than the above photo) showing how
well the photomask works out.
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And last but not least, the finished board for the above.
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