It appears to me that UV resin, used for SLA printers should be quite convenient for making PCBs with a laser etcher. You can spread a thin layer of resin on the board and quickly expose it using a laser engraver. It should be most convenient for silkscreen layers that are otherwise difficult to apply.
I think the common method of applying UV mask and spreading it using a piece of plastic sheet is messy and I can never guess how much resin to apply. It’s always too much or too little and it’s always unevenly spread. And then the UV light exposure is another guessing game.
I have a 500mw 405nm laser module attached to my 3D printer and could easily ‘print’ some PCB layouts on a thin layer of SLA resin.
Does anyone have experience with this?
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Tooting my own horn. I have something to add. With the UV “Mechanic” solder mask that gets sold on Chinese webshops pre-heating the solder mask makes a HUGE difference. Apparently it contains some volatile components that interfere with the curing process.
Heating it to about 80-ish C for a few minutes and optionally letting it cool down causes the laser to almost instantly cure the mask. Any non-exposed mask will be easily washed off with some IPA.