List of service providers

Share your information, hints and discuss Laser cutters/engravers

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adafruit
 
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List of service providers

Post by adafruit »

http://www.ladyada.net/resources/laser/providers.html

here is a list i quickly made up of all the gadget tattoo companies I know of.

LostboY
 
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Plastics...

Post by LostboY »

The guys at Pololu do laser cutting, albeit more limited than what the other houses do:

http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html

-LosT

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

Pololu also makes solder paste stencils. I don't think they advertize it on their site, but according to sparkfun, they charge $20 setup, and then $1 per square inch. So a 3x4 board would cost $32 (compare that with advanced circuits, who charges a flat $159 for stencils).

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

huh, are they made of metal or plastic?

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

3mil or 5mil mylar (you choose). It's clear.

I haven't used them (solder paste is too expensive) so I don't know about quality, but apparently sparkfun uses them for all their stencils. They even sell an alignment tool for use with the stencils.

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

ya i did these a bit ago

http://www.ladyada.net/rant/2006/08/due ... -the-pcbs/

they're "OK" but really the metal ones are worth it if you want to do a lot, thats why the ones from advanced circuits are $$ :)

i think the acrylic 1/16" cutout for alignment is essential

(sadly it loks like my google video embeds arent working - i did a server upgrade so you can cut&paste them into your address bar)

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

SparkFun's tutorial is here: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/presen ... Stenciling

It seems pretty good.
About the plastic stencils: They might be only "ok" but they're cheaper than AC and they still work. As long as you take care of them, they should work just fine for as many as you want to do.

In any case... do you know where to get "cheap" solder paste? Either it's $45 for 35g, or $11 for 35g with a minimum order of 75 syringes. (Sounds like BANNED, no? :wink: )

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

hey you dont see me complaining about them! they worked great for me, but i had to make a few to get it right.

http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/s ... uery=paste
?

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

HMC has min. quantity orders (all work out to ~$1000 after you get to the bare minimum purchase quantity).

I want to try out solder paste, but it just seems too cost prohibitive, and I don't have enough circuit boards to make it worth my time to just get into it.

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

ya i dunno, other than surplus shops...i just splurged & got a 50g tube. you also need tips and a plunger so add $20 for those :(

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

How long does the paste last in the fridge? Cause if it's near 6 months, I might consider it, otherwise, I'll have to stick to good ol' fashioned soldering.

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

i dont use a fridge, my tube has lasted me 2 years :)

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mikewitt
 
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Post by mikewitt »

Oh :shock: . Everything I've read says that it tends to go bad after ~2 weeks (but no one says what "bad" really is).

I guess I'll be buying some soon. How do _you_ melt the paste? I know that SparkFun uses a hotplate, but how do you do it?

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

i just swipe my hot iron over it. it'll take like 3 tries to figure it out and then its really easy.

engravee
 
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Boston area - engravee

Post by engravee »

Hey Guys, finally got my gig together here in the back bay boston area, near berklee college of music & newbury st. I've put up some of the work I have done on my site. Its taken a while to get the business setup but I finally got everything going in an office within a recording studio facility, if anyone is close by I welcome them to stop by! Regards, Adrian.

engravee
make it personal
e: [email protected]
w: http://www.engravee.com
p: 857.488.4325
m: 1126 Boylston St. Suite 201 Room 217
Boston, MA 02215

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