Item — HN Reader

Nice, I like that it uses commodity printer hardware - inkjets have a really high resolution nowadays, and they claim that 0.4 mm BGAs still work, which is usually out of reach for the typical DYer and prototype services like OSH Park. Also, they specify the resistance that can be achieved, something I sorely missed from this Kickstarter.

Only downside is that the ink price seems quite high - 100$ for a bottle that can print 50-100 sheets.

Also, manual pick & place is probably messy.

Still, at $2,499 early birg price, Squink is only affordable for hacker spaces and the like, while the AgIC Print DIY kit sells for $299. Exciting times!

1 comments

> Exciting times!

Agreed!

Yeah, the Squink Kickstarter is sorely lacking in information. They don't give trace width and spacing specs, etc.

I also like that AgIC uses off the shelf printer hardware and can manage high resolution. However, I'm skeptical you can do much more than OSHPark with 0.4mm BGAs. The challenge with OSHPark design rules is the breakout, and here you have one (maybe two?) layers, so again, you can't manage much of a ball grid.

Although these projects are exciting, I can't seem them replacing cheap PCB fabs + reflow oven for my own prototyping projects. So then question becomes, how do you take the next step? Maybe you can print on FR-4 or pre-preg, use optical alignment to handle registration and glue multiple layers together with conductive glue to achieve multi-layer boards. For ground planes, maybe you choose some layers pre-clad with copper. I'm not sure what to do about vias. You could think about using layers with a selection of various pre-made vias, but again, it is hard to see how that would work with large BGAs. So you have to include a drill and find some way to plug/fill the vias.

I agree, multi-layer gluing and pre-made ground planes would probably work. The big issue is how to connect the layers, I don't see how to do vias either.

Maybe there will be a symbiosis of this and 3d printer, where the single pcb layers will be printed, using conductive material and non-conductive filler.

But however this is going to turn out, we are witnessing the birth of home electronics manufacturing. This will be significant, at least as much as the availability of high-quality consumer paper printers in the 80s/90s.