In article <BrsvB7.EzC@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <1992Jul21.134601.8985@cci632.cci.com> adw@cci632.cci.com (Allen Williams (co-op)) writes:
>> However, one step that I think would be a good addition is the green
>>layer of plastic insulation that commercial circuit boards have. I've looked
>>in the Mouser and Digi-Key catalogs, and can't find anything that looks like
>>the type of insulation that would go on top of the traces.
>
>Look for "solder mask" or something similar. In a bottle, not an envelope:
>it's applied by a silk-screening process, and then (I would guess) baked on.
>
>> Is it possible to add this layer of green insulation on do-it-yourself
>>boards? ...
>
>Shouldn't be hard, if you can sort out how to convert your pad pattern to
>a silkscreen. Silk-screening is a standard art/craft process.
>--
>There is nothing wrong with making | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
>mistakes, but... make *new* ones. -D.Sim| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
The 'green stuff' is properly termed "permanent solder mask". Its primary purposes are twofold. 1) to allow for closer spacing of plated-through-holes (PTH) on the board (since via holes are masked off by the 'green stuff') and 2) to prevent solder (particularly during wave soldering) from entering the via holes.
--
________________________________________________________________________________Niels Martin |
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