I buy them at a local art store. They are very common.  I keep them around
because they will write on nearly anything and the ink is pretty
permanent.  Flux cleaner will wipe it off, but not much else.

--Lawrence







Brad Lewis <brad@BRADLEWIS.COM>
Sent by: pic microcontroller discussion list <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
01/08/2003 09:34 PM
Please respond to pic microcontroller discussion list


        To:     PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
        cc:
        Subject:        Re: [EE]: Finally found a perfect PCB pen for my plotter!


Great,

Where can other people buy these pens?

~Brad

> I have now tested the pens I got from Staedtler and compared them to
the
> bunch I already had.
> There is no comparison between them!
>
> The pen is a Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor 319 F-9 and is approx 0.4mm
> thick.
> There is supposed to exist a super fine version that's thinner.
>
> I tested this one with both horror schenarios I could think of.
Strong, hot
> acid and weak hot acid.  I let it over-etch about 15 minutes in a
medium
> heated solution and it didn't even start to pit!  It gave good
coverage when
> used as fill and is not too fast drying so one can criss-cross without
> tearing previous strokes.
> Worst torture test must have been the 40 minutes slow etch in a 45
deg C
> solution.  All my other penns failed miserably and pitted worse than
a 14
> year old chockolate fanatic.  The Lumocolor was crisp and clear.
>
> I'm working on a writeup with pictures so everyone interested can see
the
> difference.  I've requested prices and will compare those with the
other
> penns I have tested as well.
>
> Finally, my search is over...  I am so happy for following the lead
left
> here a whiler ago about Lumocolor.  The problem was that the pen
> reccommended was out of production, but the ones behind the scenes at
> Staedtler assured me that this one was an improvement.
>
> Now, all I need to do is add a guide-ring around it to allow my
plotter to
> grasp it.  It turns out to be 9.5mm thick (+/- 0.1) and that is
perfect for
> my plotter as it's the same as the original penns!  In adition the
pen is
> fairly light so it won't jiggle too much.
>
> For those of you who are wondering:
> Most plotters need a guide-ring on the penns to insure correct grasp
each
> time.  To add this I simply make a copper ting out of the core of a PR
> cable.  I make the ring a tad too small so it will hug the pen
slightly and
> position it.  Then I heat the ring up a bit with a soldering iron and
let it
> melt slightly into the pen, trying to make it even all around.  Now
the
> plotter can grab the pen correctly every time as long as I didn't
screw up
> the distance from the point of the pen to the ring.  This makes it
very
> practical, and by adding a couple of penns with different widths
we're in
> buisiness.
>
>     KreAture
>
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>

:)

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