geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: ygor on Tue, 19 September 2017, 19:31:23
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I recently dyed a KBD75 PCB using purple Rit Dyemore (https://www.amazon.com/Rit-DyeMore-Advanced-Polyester-Acrylic/dp/B00U2IXMX2).
People were asking for a write-up so, for those interested, here is what I did...
MATERIALS:
One Large Pot from the Thrift Store you can ruin ($5)
One Bottle of Royal Purple Rit Dyemore (https://www.amazon.com/Rit-DyeMore-Advanced-Polyester-Acrylic/dp/B00U2IXMX2) ($3 w/ Michaels coupon)
One bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol and a couple handfuls of q-tips ($3)
One white KBD75 PCB (https://kbdfans.myshopify.com/collections/pcb/products/kbdfans-75-pcb-75) ($35)
One towlie, some water and two burger flipper things (Stolen)
PREFACE:
I've been dyeing a lot of **** lately for no reason. Recently I received a KBD75 kit in the mail and upon seeing the pearly white PCB board I naturally thought... I'm gonna dye this. A replacement was thirty-five dollars so I figured, if I may borrow a meme from He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, let us do it fer science, consequence be damned. I consorted with my LWNN crew on Sleck to see if it could be done, but they were all too stoned to care except for dg who linked me here (http://www.aaronalai.com/pcb-board-dyeing) and gave a shrug. Good enough for me. I went out the next day to the Thrift Store and found a pot large enough to fit the PCB and got to work...
PREFACE TO PROCEDURE:
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Dye is messy stuff. If you're a wild man like me and are doing this in your kitchen, please make sure you cover the countertops with a towel and keep a wet cloth on hand in case of any spills. The quicker you get to a spill, the less likely it will stain. Just use a steady hand and common sense. You don't want to permanently dye yer counter-tops and deal with the landlord or, worse, an angry spouse. So be ****ing careful, dum dum.
PROCEDURE:
1 ) Fill yer giant pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2 ) Once water is boiling back it off to a simmer, just below boiling. On the dial scale, I dropped both burners to between 6 and 7.
3 ) Now that the agua is najs and simmery, add the Rit Dyemore to the water. For a pot this large, I used a little less than half of the bottle. Give it a stir.
4 ) Next, plop the PCB in 'der. I used two spatulas on each end of the PCB board to keep it elevated above the bottom of the pot. Ideally you would have some sort of floating strainer but I did not have one large enough.
5 ) Wait however long you want. You can check the board occasionally till the color tone you want to achieve is satisfactory. I wanted it to be as saturated as possible so I left it in there for an hour.
6 ) Take the board out of the water and rinse it off with soap and fresh water.
7 ) Clean up and make the kitchen look like you were never there. Most important part.
8 ) Once the board is dry, clean all the metal pads and solder points with iso and q-tips. This is the most laborious part of the entire process. Just give 'er the ol' najs rubdown.
9 ) Stick yer PCB in the sun for a day to make sure it's dry.
10 ) Plug it in and enjoy.
CONCLUSION & PHOTOS:
That's about it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. One of the SMD LEDs burned out when I fired it up. I replaced it and everything is tip-top and purple af.
Here are some photos of the process and end result.
The Setup:
(https://i.imgur.com/7BN7J0r.jpg)
The Execution:
(https://i.imgur.com/I0wbDd1.jpg)
The Result (before iso rubdown):
(https://i.imgur.com/r2fxwBY.jpg)
First test (one of the LEDs fizzled out but was easy to replace):
(https://i.imgur.com/3YNYax3.jpg)
Final result:
(https://i.imgur.com/LaXGXXj.jpg)
I apologize that most of the photographs are potato. I used my out-of-service iPhone 4 for a lot of these.
I hope this is helpful for anybody wanting to try this. If you ruin your PCB/kitchen/marriage as a result, please do not come seeking vengeance.
Happy dyeing. :cool:
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I want a dyed pcb!
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Inspired ygor, you madman. Looks great, hope it functions 100% !
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This is hot, my guy
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That looks really really good! I am so curious if this board works! How did the solder mask hold up to being simmered? Assuming it did thought I would think you be gold from what I know of electronics
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That looks really really good! I am so curious if this board works! How did the solder mask hold up to being simmered? Assuming it did thought I would think you be gold from what I know of electronics
The solder mask held up great. Looks good.
But unfortunately one of the SMD RGB LEDs burned out. Replacing it is no big deal, but I'll need to figure out exactly which part number it is and where to order it from... Which may be a bit of a bastard... I wish I could ask KBDfans but I can't figure out how to contact them on their website! :confused:
:thumb:
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Its really easy honestly when you go to KBD fans and login should pop up with a little window using Facebook messenger asking if you like to leave him a message. I contacted him before thought there and he was swift to get back to me also could try Reddit.
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Its really easy honestly when you go to KBD fans and login should pop up with a little window using Facebook messenger asking if you like to leave him a message. I contacted him before thought there and he was swift to get back to me also could try Reddit.
I sent 'em a message on Reddit.
Edit- He responded pretty quick. He linked to some on Ali (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-1000pcs-SK6812-4pins-5050-SMD-similar-with-WS2812B-Individually-Addressable-Digital-RGB-Full-Color-LED/32527626500.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.9.VCmmOg&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_0_10152_10065_10151_10068_10344_10342_10343_10340_10341_10307_10137_10060_10155_10154_10056_10055_10054_10059_100031_10099_9912_10338_10339_10103_10102_440_10052_10053_10142_10107_10050_10051_10325_10326_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10179_143_10312_10313_10314_10078_10079_10073-9912,searchweb201603_0,ppcSwitch_0&btsid=0380c381-ca1e-4711-9471-7eb6d7f1fb82&algo_expid=0b9c4121-1225-49f4-96e0-58b88dac7d35-1&algo_pvid=0b9c4121-1225-49f4-96e0-58b88dac7d35) which were also 5v like the link below. I'ma order the Ebay ones since they're only 22 miles from my house. Nice.
Ordered these. (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adafruit-Neopixel-WS2812B-Individually-Addressable-5050-RGB-SMD-LED-5V-100pcs-/302255813862?epid=686929815&hash=item465fd9b4e6:g:34EAAOSwuxFYzHgf)
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Astonishing. It looks like it came out the factory like that.
Great job.
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I already told you.. but that looks dope :thumb: gg
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Thanks dudes. Hopefully it works.
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I'm so confused by this thread...
I don't know whether it's the boiling of electronics in a water-based dye... the random Trump gang-sign, or just the sheer audacity of the idea.
Of course, it's easier to just order your own PCB with custom colourmasks... but I salute the sheer recklessness of the process.
If you like custom stuff, have you condidered designing your own pcbs to your own specification?
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psst, next time just throw the dye in the detergent dispenser of your dishwasher, mount all your keyboards in there and do a full wash / dry / sanitize cycle ;-)
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I'm so confused by this thread...
I don't know whether it's the boiling of electronics in a water-based dye... the random Trump gang-sign, or just the sheer audacity of the idea.
Of course, it's easier to just order your own PCB with custom colourmasks... but I salute the sheer recklessness of the process.
If you like custom stuff, have you condidered designing your own pcbs to your own specification?
This thread is genios :thumb:
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I'm so confused by this thread...
I don't know whether it's the boiling of electronics in a water-based dye... the random Trump gang-sign, or just the sheer audacity of the idea.
Of course, it's easier to just order your own PCB with custom colourmasks... but I salute the sheer recklessness of the process.
If you like custom stuff, have you condidered designing your own pcbs to your own specification?
I didn't know trump was in a gang. How do I join?
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the random Trump gang-sign
(https://i.imgur.com/4b4mikU.jpg)
If you like custom stuff, have you condidered designing your own pcbs to your own specification?
Every day. But people hankey my ideas. BUT WUT DO THEY KNOW, HUH.
(https://i.imgur.com/b7ZFCc8.gif)
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Nice! I did not know you could dye solder mask. I have dyed PCBs without solder mask in regular liquid RIT dye and that worked well.
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Curious to see how long that PCB holds up. Generally water + electronics = magic smoke. In this case nothing was powered obviously.
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Curious to see how long that PCB holds up. Generally water + electronics = magic smoke. In this case nothing was powered obviously.
As long as it was properly cleaned and dried there should be no problem whatsoever.
Of course, it's easier to just order your own PCB with custom colourmasks... but I salute the sheer recklessness of the process.
Is it really that simple to get just any color to your specification. I would guess you'd need a pretty substantial order for that.
Nice! I did not know you could dye solder mask. I have dyed PCBs without solder mask in regular liquid RIT dye and that worked well.
I must say that I too would have thought the solder mask would be pretty impermeable.
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Curious to see where this ends up, the shelf as a piece of art, or the desk as a piece of art...
Sent from my SM-J320P using Tapatalk
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CAPTAIN'S LOG: Typing this from the dyed PCB, no issues with functionality. After replacing the burnt out LED and soldering in the swootches, all is well. I'll update again with photos but, unless something changes, I will call this project a complete success.
I'll finish the build by dyeing the clear acrylic middle section of the KBD75 purple. Shouldn't have any issues.
Thanks for reading. Dye Forever Forever Dye.
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Final build:
(https://i.imgur.com/LaXGXXj.jpg)
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holy sheet
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top notch DIY, man that looks incredible! :thumb:
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wow that turned out superb! grats on the project Ygor! now you know what you must try next! Dying the board and the switch tops!
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Thanks dudes!
wow that turned out superb! grats on the project Ygor! now you know what you must try next! Dying the board and the switch tops!
I actually did dye those switch tops and stems (and bottoms). The trans purple casings are 58g ergo clears and the trans black are 35g speedy stealth silent reds fer my CSGO habituals. The cases were sourced from Cherry RGB switches.
New things learned from that experience:
You can dye the bottom casings with leaf and have zero problems.
You can dye the silent stems without disrupting the bumper function.
:cool:
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Here is a closer look at the ergo clear:
(https://i.imgur.com/sgnfR2M.jpg)
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Here are close-ups of the dyed silent reds:
(https://i.imgur.com/afvwMgK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qbqbSsC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/bOEi7ko.jpg)
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You need anodized purple titanium stabilizer wires.
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You need anodized purple titanium stabilizer wires.
(https://i.imgur.com/gJkhuiF.jpg)
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Is it really that simple to get just any color to your specification. I would guess you'd need a pretty substantial order for that.
Guess it depends on what you'd call 'substantial' ;-) But there are fabrication houses that can not only match ANY colour you choose but also do multiple soldermask colours on the same board.
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Is it really that simple to get just any color to your specification. I would guess you'd need a pretty substantial order for that.
Guess it depends on what you'd call 'substantial' ;-) But there are fabrication houses that can not only match ANY colour you choose but also do multiple soldermask colours on the same board.
That's cool. You can also just dye it with a $3 bottle of Dyemore.