/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>know a bit of electronics
>read about toner transfer etching
>figure I'll give it a try
>print ranks on laser printer

pic related, the rank pins printed.

taped to brass with medical tape

The idea is the toner transfers onto the heated brass, (or copper in the case of printed circuit boards). I suppose it's because the brass will get hotter than the paper. Or something. Fucking science.

Let it cool down and...

FAIL!

Cleaned with acetone and polished.

Several days and an amazon order later, the new super substrate arrives - stick on vinyl!

After several tries on the printer, pic related is the result.

mmmm dat hot vinyl smell

Much better. Time to touch it up with a marker.

into the acid bath it goes

You get this stuff from radio shack for like 15 bucks. Dump it into a plastic container and it will slowly eat away at whatever metal is dunked into it. It's weak enough that it can't eat through metal covered by toner, or even magic marker.

Take it out of the bath and clean the toner off with acetone.

This is what's left after all the toner is removed.

Good job OP.

Total etch time was approximately 40 minutes. The acid tub was inside a larger tub of shallow hot water to speed up the reaction. A box fan was placed against the tub to vibrate the solution and to blow away the fumes. The etch depth was just about perfect.

>>549408
Thanks.

After several failed attempts to cut them, I finally settled on a jig saw with a 32 teeth per inch fine metal blade. I had to outsource the actual sawing to a carpenter friend with a steady hand. We went through 4 saw blades before finishing the plate.

The cut lapel pins. They're exactly 1 inch by 1 inch by 0.051" (1.30mm).

Did I mention they're sharp? Because they're sharp as shit like this.

If you let go, they turn into very sharp projectiles.

Here they are, all polished, deburred, edges rounded and ready for their pin backing.

That was the extent of my work on it. I handed it off to the club with a bag of pic related (+ clutches) to be either glued or soldered to the back.

Awesome little project seemed like lots of fun

>>549421
Thanks, it was.

The rank images are fairly dorky. Cool project. They look nice.

Nice project bro, good job on the follow-through. You deserve them to turn out awesome.

Can't wait to see how you're going to colour the etched area and finish them off.

>>549432
I'm really glad you guys like them. This picture is what's happening to the pins now - I'm not involved much at this point. Not sure what enamel this is, but I know it's not engine enamel. They sprayed, dried and then sanded it off the raised area. They tell me that they found an epoxy that dries stronger than the brass backings too. They're going to polish the exposed brass and then clear coat it with some kind of sealer.

>>549426
I managed to remove the worst images and replace them with the stiletto, mace, executioners axe and chainsaw but the whole thing was made cooperatively with other club members so it was an exercise in compromise. I made a kick ass gas mask guy that was vetod, I suspect because it looked cooler than the top rank angel of death icon.

BTW the black and white master was vectorized in inkscape.

>>549439
>Not sure what enamel this is
>clear coat it with some kind of sealer

This is basically the same, google clear coat enamel, the coat protects the paint and metal angainst oxidation and scratches and such

Cool project, turned out great. Nice job and thanks for sharing!

>>549439
Some of them are a little rough but for handmade, especially for a first-timer, the turned out really well.

>They tell me that they found an epoxy that dries stronger than the brass backings too.
Don't be surprised if this turns out to be their weakness.

I've used filled epoxies that were dead hard, very difficult to scratch even with a screwdriver bearing down with full hand pressure. But they were brittle as hell and could crack from sideways forces.

Plus sometimes epoxies don't cling to smooth surfaces worth a damn – so while very strong they may still not join well. Soldering would be THE way to attach the pins, but I think it would normally need to be done prior to the paint and clearcoat going on.

>>549482
Meh, if soldering the pins on (I'd agree, a superior method to attach the pins) ruins the finish he can give it an acetone bath and repaint/clear coat them.

Mighty fine effort though OP. Well played.

>>549485
I wonder if it would be possible to TIG weld the pins, using an extremely low current welder and a steady hand.

Very nice OP.

I actually like the rough look. Like they are some time worn badge of honor with history..

Extremely Good Job OP.

Way cool, OP. I like your style.

would someone be so kind and make a pictured step by step? im on my phone and would like to save this. freaking awesome project!

>>549596
Hit it up on the archive.

> https://archive.installgentoo.net/diy/thread/S549391

hey /diy/ im looking for some help. im trying to design a heater for LEDs on my truck. my plan is to put a wire that heats up because of electrical resistance. this wire will be inside of the stamped steel ring (usually chrome plated) that surrounds the LED assembly. any ideas on how to safely do this? the trucks electrical system is 12V

>>549912
sorry this was supposed to be in /diy/ not your thread

This thread....

OMG!

>>549533
tig welding brass is an absolute cunt
shits got zinc in it so it will require some fiddlin

my guess is soldering it would be the easier bet
(never tried soldering brass, unsure how well it sticks)

>>550050
> Brass
Rather well.

>>550050
>never tried soldering brass, unsure how well it sticks

Ordinary tin-lead solder works very well, even without any additional flux (other than solder wire's rosin).

>>550056
Even lead free is a treat, >>550053 was done with lead free rosin core. You just need a little more heat is all.

>>549457
Thank you.

>>549482
I agree. I've found some easy hard solder in case the epoxy fails.

>>549485
Thank you

>>549564
I like the rough look too.

>>549590
Thank you

>>549933
Muy bueno.

I finally got some time to finish the second batch, which is the last. I decided to mix it up and try another transfer medium I've read about, copier transparencies

I finally got some time to finish the second batch, which is the last. I decided to try another transfer medium I had read about - copier transparencies.

Printed out and ready to be ironed on.

Better than paper, but nowhere near as good as vinyl.

Here's the printed vinyl. To print it, I printed out the image on regular paper, stuck the adhesive backed vinyl over the image, and then ran the same paper through the printer again.

And here's the results. This is using the same batch of ferric chloride (aka PCB enchant) as last time. The etch time was 60 minutes but it seems not quite as deep; the enchant is probably getting worn out. That's all for this time. Hopefully I can get a photo of a finished pin before the thread 404s.

Okay, one last photo of the etch depth of the second batch.

>>551206
looks great!

>>549401
dat iron
have the same one
black and decker master race
i salute you OP

>>551204
oh yes i'd like to see the results

>>551204
>Hopefully I can get a photo of a finished pin before the thread 404s.

shits on first page yo!
you probably got all week with this board

lovely work!

>>549391
great job

What kind of club is this?

holy fucking shit.

this thread.

fucking glorious.

>>551206
I like this batch even better! The shallow etch works for me

I have a CNC mill,I could engrave it for you.how many names and what size brass?

>>552560
tl;dr lol
good fuckin ingenuity OP