Panel Labelling AFTER build

[Mr modnaR]

http://www.pulsar.gs/PCB/a_Pages/3_Direct_Etch/3b_The_15min_PCB/The_15min_PCB.html

step 4 shows a method of silkscreening a pcb. i'm sure this method would work with front panels, though it would be difficult to do more than one colour i think.

[docbrown]

I went the other way.  I just had schaffer do the machining and did the paint and graphics myself.  My front panel ended up costing $40 for the machining plus paint and labels it came to about $55.

That is a great idea!! I can finished the rest that I can, so that the panel will be few dollars cheap.

thanks!!  ;D

EDIT: Sweet label BTW..

[DrBunsen]

There was an article about home silkscreening in Makezine.com's blog recently.  Didn't look too hard/expensive to set up, and the results looked OK.

[RTurner]

Silkscreening isn't necessarily hard, or expensive, but it does take some experience and know-how to get professional results.  But nothing that's beyond anyone with a day or two to spare and some scrap to practice on.

Silk-screening tips:

1.  Keep your artwork as simple as possible.  (That is, use sans-serif fonts sized large enough that they'll show through a screen that prints 72dpi, avoid thin lines, don't fool yourself into thinking you can pull-off CMYK type work, the smaller a feature the less detail it should have, the "blockier" the better, use as few colors as possible)

2.  Make sure to proof your screen for pinholes.

3.  Either use masking-tape or a combination of masking-tape and filler to block-out the edges of your screen (if you have a registration system, don't block out the registration marks, tape them out after your tests).

4.  Avoid half-tone work (it's surprisingly hard to get it to turn out right in a silk-screen shop with the proper machinery etc.... Probably next to impossible to do at home without investing $$$)

5.  Avoid full-color work.  You do not have the proper tools (flash units, registration system...) to make it turn out right, again, this stuff is a pain in a shop, and minor variations in color make these never look quite right.

6.  You will often (as in always) have to go back over white or light colors, and it helps with non-white light colors to have a layer of white underneath.

7.  Depending on what ink you're using (for panels, an epoxy-based ink that sets with either UV or heat is acceptable) make certain to do a partial cure (while it's lined up) before doing the next color.

8.  Print from Lightest to darkest color.

9.  When manual silk-screening, get a bead of ink that runs the top width of the screen.  With your squeegy lightly pull from top to bottom in a smooth action to "flood" the screen with a layer of ink.  Then, from top to bottom, firmly drag the squeegy down in order to push the ink through the screen.  You may want to repeat this process another once or twice in order to maker certain there is enough ink on what you're printing.

Really, you can make it pretty simple for yourself AS LONG AS you stay with a single dark color on a light background.  In which case you can do it with a single screen, in one to two passes (depending on the ink).

Oh yeah, most importantly:  KEEP WHAT YOU'RE SCREENING ONTO STILL.

[audiocommander]

nice tips, indeed :)

As a designer, I want to add one more:

10. check the spelling twice before printing

just imagine doing the hard printing/sticking works and then discovering afterwards you just wrote something like "Mibi Box"  :o

;D hehe...

[Jidis]

step 4 shows a method of silkscreening a pcb. i'm sure this method would work with front panels

Yes, I've been doing toner transfers to aluminum and a bunch of other weird crap for a while. Some turns out OK. I'll try to grab a pic or two later.

The problem with it (I believe) is that the heating of the substrate can work drastically different than what we're used to with circuit board material. I've been stuck running a modified clothes iron for my TT stuff, and I think with a proper laminator or something, the metal transfers may be more consistent, but you'd also need something to accommodate such thick heavy material. If you don't get too frustrated, the regular iron method can work with a bunch of trial and error tests. My main problems with it seem to have been from the metal getting too hot and blurring the toner in spots.

Another thing which has helped a lot has been spraying a light mist of clear acrylic on the aluminum beforehand. It seems to help fuse the toner to it and keeps the paper down tight, as the metal starts to cool down. It's the same stuff I put over the transfer once I'm happy enough with it.

BTW- I've done PCB labels with the TT too. Probably works even better than metal panels, but doing labels on a double-sided board is a PITA >:( (too much texture I think).

Take Care,

George

BTW- Despite the luck I've had with TT, I'm very interested in that lazertran stuff. I've got a larger panel to do soon (hopefully) and without a better laminating system, I'm not sure I could get a 100% even transfer, unless I do it in sections somehow. 

[docbrown]

nice tips, indeed :)

As a designer, I want to add one more:

10. check the spelling twice before printing

just imagine doing the hard printing/sticking works and then discovering afterwards you just wrote something like "Mibi Box"  :o

;D hehe...

I think in this case, you'll say DOH!!

Hommer Simpson!!  ;D ;D

[RTurner]

Fortunately all of the work we printed was passed before about 8 pairs of eyes before it'd make it to print, so things like spelling mistakes were never an issue.  But certain things could only be caught at time to set up the press, things like mis-registration of the artwork (it's rare, but it has happened), skewing of a panel during exposure, the occassional screen that would get over/under exposed (usually just enough to make whatever 6-color job it was part of look really weird), etc....  This isn't really a mistake, but, we had to have a meeting one day, the shop foreman/supervisor/whatever sat us down... "Guys, we have this new client, and she's a really nice old lady and doesn't understand, but the job name is 'Spunkwear'.... <everyone starts laughing>... So just don't write anything on the job tickets in case she ever sees one or shows up, Ok??"  For you non U.S. people, spunk is a sometimes slang-word for.... ejaculate. 

And then there were all of the death-metal t-shirts and stickers we did...

But yeah, don't pull a rave-flyer, triple check your spelling before you burn any screens.

[DrBunsen]

You might also be interested in the transfer system I've linked here

[Mr modnaR]

that's what i linked to on the previous page. slow coach.  ;D

[DavidBanner]

audiocommander is sooooo right!!!

in fact - do a test print, and get someone else to proof it!

[docbrown]

For you non U.S. people, spunk is a sometimes slang-word for.... ejaculate.

It gives a new meaning of "This guy right here got alot of spunk". ;D

[DrBunsen]

No, actually that's very close to the original meaning. 

[Altitude]

No, actually that's very close to the original meaning. 

nice

;D

[docbrown]

;D

[stryd_one]

I've been thinking about this a bit lately and I had an idea... It's based on concepts I picked up from graffiti, and I plan on using spraycans to do it, but airbrushing would be nice too. With good can control, a spraycan will do just as good a job. It has two limitations but I don't think they're all that bad really: You have to paint the panel (so no brushed aluminium/bare chrome etc), and your panel colour may need to be darker than your lines.

1) Make stickers of your lines and lettering. The lettering can be bought as pre-cut adhesive backed sheets from stationery and art supply stores. The lines can be cut with a ruler or stencil and scalpel from sticker sheets, or you could print onto the sheets as an outline (or both). This is easier than cutting a screen because the lettering is pre-cut, and better than lettering stencils because they sit too far from the panel and leave fuzzy edges.

2) Paint the panel in the areas where the designs will be. You don't have to be accurate at all, just make sure there is paint where the letters go. Let it dry.

3) Lay your stickers over the painted areas. Use a ruler to make sure it's al nice and straight. You can draw faint pen lines over the whole panel to help with layout.

4) Spray the main background colour of the panel over the whole thing. Do this lightly and dry in layers to get a nice even coat and avoid leeching paint under the stickers. I recommend Belton or Montana brand paints, pretty much everything else is junk.

5) Peel off your stickers to reveal the letters underneath

If you're familiar with the technique you can also do graphics and stuff like this by layering and fading the colours... It's just like screen printing, only done backwards ;)

Any thoughts?

[Mr modnaR]

now that's a cool technique! it would also work well on clear or tinted, but transparent) acrylic (Perspex) where you put the stickers on the bare acrylic, and afterwards, stick a few leds behind the panel, and voila! backlit letters 'n' lines!

thanks for the suggestion mate!

[stryd_one]

Hey good idea! I never considered that... You could also stick the mask on bare metal and get a nice effect... hmmm... I really like that backlighting idea though!

[jajucius]

Hi

I can do silk screen very reasanable. check out my site. i will also be offering chrome and gold brush plating soon.

www.kustompowder.net

joe

[docbrown]

Hi

I can do silk screen very reasanable. check out my site. i will also be offering chrome and gold brush plating soon.

www.kustompowder.net

joe

How much will it be to silkscreen this panel?

http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_seq/mbseq_panel_proto_final.gif

thanks..

[jajucius]

Whats the size? do you need it powder coated? i would say powder coated and silk screen $20.00 just silk screen $15.00.

Joe

[docbrown]

Whats the size? do you need it powder coated? i would say powder coated and silk screen $20.00 just silk screen $15.00.

Joe

Wow Joe, that is a good price.. :D  Man, I already order my panel from Schaeffer which cost me $120 bux.. :'(

Oh, and the size of the panel is 19.0157"x5.2165" which is a rack mounted type. I'm sure somebody in this forum could use your services for their future projects.

thanks for the info BTW. :)

[jajucius]

Thanks, I'm not out to make a living from this, allthough i make good money on motorcycle and car parts. but i have had a lot of help with my diy ing and i just want to give back.

Thanks

Joe