[This message is converted from WPS-PLUS to ASCII] Scott, To minimize confusion, I have been referring to the systems for imaging phototools as "Dry Write Imaging" or "Direct Write Imaging" (DWI) systems, and the systems for imaging resist as "Laser Direct Imaging (LDI)" systems. What I know: Dry Write (phototool) systems: ----------------------------- Barco has been selling the ELISE plotter system for a few years now. It was the first system of this type and may still be the only system being used regularly for production. There are 6-8 plotters currently installed, mostly in Europe. Gerber announced their PRISM-IR (Crescent-50) plotter system at the IPC Expo last year. They have recently installed their first system. Orbotech has been testing a prototype system, but I don't think they have "officially" announced that they have a product offering yet. All of these systems use an infrared laser to expose a new and different phototool film. The film consists of a layer of bismuth metal coated onto traditional 7 mil (175 um) polyester base with a 12 um protective cover layer of polyester. The film is opaque as delivered and becomes clear where it is exposed. The film is called MasterTool MT-8. It was developed by Agfa and is available from both DuPont and Agfa. MasterTool was specifically designed to meet the needs of a phototooling film for durability, dimensional stability, resolution, etc. A couple of other systems that have been introduced recently, but were not specifically designed for phototooling include: Polaroid Helios uses gallium-arsenide laser diodes to expose a photopolymer impregnated with carbon particles. Exposure causes a shift in adhesion properties and then a cover sheet is removed, taking with it the exposed polymer. A protective overcoat is then applied. I talked with an individual from Polaroid about the system while at IPC two years ago. He was exploring possible applications in PWB, but I haven't seen any other activity in this industry. Xerox has a system called Verde Film they are selling into the graphic arts and x-ray markets, but I'm not aware of any interest in our market. Laser Direct Imaging (resist) systems: ------------------------------------- Laser Imaging Systems (LIS) is a new joint venture between Jenoptik and Orbotech. Their DP-40 imager uses a UV laser and resists that are similar to traditional resists in their spectral sensitivity. It is capable of imaging silver phototools as well as resist. Polyscan has sold LDI systems for a number of years. They have recently been purchased by ETEC. Their imager also uses a UV laser. I expect that it is capable of imaging silver phototools as well, but I don't that it will. Pentax has shown a system at JPCA each year for the past several years. It uses a visible laser to expose a specially sensitized resist in a highly automated system. The imager is expensive and I understand that the resist is expensive. As with any new technology, all of these systems tend to be expensive and slower than more traditional resist exposure systems. New advancements in high power laser technology combined with work to develop higher speed resists may close that gap in the near future. I notice there is a workshop on "Direct Write Exposure Techniques" being led by Jeff Rittichier of ETEC/Polyscan at the IPC Convention in March. He is also presenting a paper on "Advancements in UV Laser Direct Imaging". Bob Seyfert DuPont Electronics [log in to unmask] ------- Forwarded message Posted: Tue, 04 Feb 97 00:00:01 -0500 Date: Mon, 03 Feb 97 22:26:01 -0500 From: "[log in to unmask]" <"[log in to unmask]"@esds01.mrgate.jlcl01> To: seyferrl@a1 Subject: Laser Direct Writing VMSmail To information: [log in to unmask] Sender's personal name: MAIL-11 Daemon Looking for some input on laser direct writing: Who makes LD equipment for phototool writing? Who makes LD equip. for direct board writing? Does a machine that does one necessarily do the other? Any good/bad experiences with LDW (direct board, in particular?) I've got an old PC Fab mag. from '89 with an add for a Nikon LP3000D that's supposed to be able to do both phototool and board. Anybody ever use this machine? Does it still exist, maybe in a newer model? Thanks in advance. -Scott *************************************************************************** * TechNet mail list is provided as a service by IPC using SmartList v3.05 * *************************************************************************** * To unsubscribe from this list at any time, send a message to: * * [log in to unmask] with <subject: unsubscribe> and no text. * *************************************************************************** * If you are having a problem with the IPC TechNet forum please contact * * Dmitriy Sklyar at 847-509-9700 ext. 311 or email at [log in to unmask] * *************************************************************************** % ====== Internet headers and postmarks ====== % Received: by esds01.es.dupont.com; id AA15347; Mon, 3 Feb 97 22:23:07 -0500 % Received: by gatekeeper.es.dupont.com; id WAA16562; Mon, 3 Feb 1997 22:23:05 -0500 % Received: from ipc.org by simon.ipc.org via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/940406.SGI) id VAA18359; Mon, 3 Feb 1997 21:12:19 -0800 % Resent-Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 21:12:19 -0800 % Received: by ipc.org (Smail3.1.28.1 #2)id m0vra5x-0000g7C; Mon, 3 Feb 97 19:54 CST % Resent-Sender: [log in to unmask] % Old-Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]> % To: [log in to unmask] % Subject: Laser Direct Writing % Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> % X-Mailer: Juno 1.15 % X-Juno-Line-Breaks: 0-6,9-12 % From: [log in to unmask] (s d thompson) % Date: Mon, 03 Feb 1997 19:21:46 EST % Resent-Message-Id: <"GAdFB2.0.IAA.IRfzo"@ipc> % Resent-From: [log in to unmask] % X-Mailing-List: <[log in to unmask]> archive/latest/9901 % X-Loop: [log in to unmask] % Precedence: list % Resent-Sender: [log in to unmask] ------- End of Forwarded message *************************************************************************** * TechNet mail list is provided as a service by IPC using SmartList v3.05 * *************************************************************************** * To unsubscribe from this list at any time, send a message to: * * [log in to unmask] with <subject: unsubscribe> and no text. * *************************************************************************** * If you are having a problem with the IPC TechNet forum please contact * * Dmitriy Sklyar at 847-509-9700 ext. 311 or email at [log in to unmask] * ***************************************************************************