Scotch TL901 Thermal Laminator PCB Toner Transfer Modification

Modifying the Scotch TL901 Thermal Laminator to get a bit hotter for toner transfer PCB etching.
Need one 1.2k Resistor placed in line with one of the black wires coming from the thermistor that is plugged into rt1 on the laminators circuit board.
This laminator has been discontinued, I'm unsure what the newer models are like to accomplish the same thing.
Some possible used or NOS laminators that will work for this mod:
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...
Resistors:
amzn.to/3miCzRz

[@katpaints]

I jammed my TL-901 and you got it working again! Thanks!

[@trythistv]

Awesome! Glad it helped you get it working again!

[@kimmerwin7415]

Thank you...I was able to use your video and figure out how to take apart my laminator and get it unjammed! Much appreciated! Saved me money & time.

[@trythistv]

Kim Merwin You are very welcome! Glad the video helped you!

[@gstormelectro]

Thank you! This works on the TL-902. I'm never going back to photo resist.

[@andytimmons1950]

Im gonna buy the TL-902, needs to be modified about the thickness?

[@reginakelley5498]

Thanks, had to take mine apart to get it unjammed

[@ugri123]

Great video. I took a look to the link and saw the PCB transfer of the first try, before the modification. Is the transfer got with the modification much better. I just wanted to know if it is worth to buy a laminator and make that modification. thanks

[@draxtheliteralist1107]

Hey man the motor on the left is making a clocking sound, it sounds like something needs greasing. How do I open the motor?

[@incalify]

what abaout adding 1.5kOhm to increase the temp up to 180 degree. Would you encourage that. Some toners from low cost laser printers may need upto 185 degree. How much would 1.5kOhm increase the temp according to your estimation. thanks.

[@varietedigital7567]

Hi buddy!, what size of maximum thru-put thickness has this laminator?.The GBC-H220 one, is 1mm.The copper board has more than this.Can we damage it or not?

[@annabiagetti549]

hello... you know a similar cheapest laminator that can work fine ,but with power supply 230v european ?

[@landslide03]

This is a great mod! I am curious what kind of 1.2k resistor you got? I went to radio shack and they hand 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 watt resistors in 1.2k. Which one do you think I should get? I also saw a dimmer switch people were using to slow the roller down on some of the Harbor Freight ones, do you think that mod would work on this as well?

[@trythistv]

Seville I personally used a 1/4 watt as I keep assortments of them around for projects with the PCBs we fab. I hadn't seen the roller slowing dimmers, I think it could be possible, but I'll have to check to be 100% sure

[@yatnirapadilla5387]

Hi! My Scotch TL901 Thermal Laminator does not turn on, how can I fix it?

[@lineslines1344]

I picked up a TL901X ($20 on Amazon), and it is a slightly different variation of the TL901 shown in the video. It looks like they've done away with the thermal fuse. Temperature for the 3 mil setting is 105 deg C, 5 mil setting is 120 deg C. I added a 1.2K resistor and got 110 Deg C for the 3 mil setting and 131 Deg C for the 5 mil setting. a 2K resistor gives 130 deg C for the 3 mil setting and 157 deg C for the 5 mil setting. This was measured with a thermocouple between the rollers (on the outgoing side so it didn't get sucked in). I also added eight 5 mm diameter 1mm thick washers to the screw bosses between the two halves of the case because 0.063" boards don't quite fit otherwise.

[@trythistv]

Awesome info! Thanks for the update on a newer model, I've been curious of the internals of the newer laminators and if this mod was still viable!

[@ericksaint3837]

Thanks! I'm grabbing a 901C tonight because target has them for 21 bucks. Can't remember the temp of my paper. But damn the hand iron gets old.

[@ericksaint3837]

So the one I picked up, labeled as the TL902 is showing 135C on 3 mil setting, and 150C on 5mil setting out of the box. Tested using a Fluke meter and thermocouple in same position as Lines above. This unit has a 216C thermal fuse installed. When I have more time I'll try running a transfer and see how it goes, not sure when it gets to a point of too hot for the transfer, before adding any resistors.

[@btr2oz]

My TL901 does not have screws on the bottom :-( My bottom is completely different. Why do you suppose?

[@trythistv]

Completely different? Perhaps its a newer revision, maybe its got clips holding it together? Check and make sure they haven't hidden screws under stickers or little feet on the bottom before you try popping any clips there might be.

[@Berghiker]

How many micron is that laminator? I found one that has 2x 125 micron. Will that work? What is your PCB thickness? Did you change the thermostat for a 200 deg one?

[@trythistv]

It is rated to do 3mil or 5mil, which I believe 5mil is 125micron, I'm not sure on my PCB thickness, Didn't change the thermistor, added in a resistor to up the temperature.

[@Kumodot]

I have one question. It's not easy to find a laminator with cold and hot options. I was thinking. Isn't that an EASY thing to add, just adding a switch that cut the wire that makes it get hot ?

[@trythistv]

it should be very simple to add a switch with a resistor to be able to switch to a hotter mode. in one position the thermistor wire would connect straight through the switch to the normal connection, and if the switch is flipped the other way then it it would have a resistor in the middle to limit the signal from the thermistor which would make the laminator heat up hotter for toner transfer.

[@donovanpl]

You mentioned 140-150 Celsius. Did you mean Fahrenheit? I purchased one and made the mod. The temperature was 88 Celcius or 190 Fahrenheit.

[@lineslines1344]

Although I'm getting 5 mil traces to work great on smaller boards with 5 passes through the laminator, the motor moves a bit fast at 5.7 mm/s and it would be good to slow it down. I tried a diode in series with the motor but the result was no motion. A triac motor speed control slows it down to 5mm/s but with much loss of torque, so they're probably using a synchronous motor. I dunno, maybe I'll try a triac gated with a 555 timer to intermittently feed and stop the motor every few AC cycles, or just blast the board with a heat gun to keep it warm.

[@pentachronic]

Have you tried 3D printing some new gears ?

[@yumarucita]

fuse is SF188E

[@trythistv]

Is that the factory one? I'd imagine it would be possible to replace it with a higher temp one in the same package, or a second one with a switch to select between the two to retain laminator function too. You've got me thinking now! Thanks a ton for the comment!

[@shifter65]

Where's the mentioned link?

[@trythistv]

Oh. I updated the website a while back and broke the link and must've removed it from the description. Guess I need to write those instructions up and get the link put back. Sorry about that! I'll get the info posted on trythistv.com sometime tomorrow!

[@shifter65]

@@trythistv Oh ok, no worries. You don't have to do a new write up if the old one is lost. How did the laminator hold up for PCB (toner transfer) use since the time you made the video? Is the quality of the laminator good enough? Thinking of buying the newer model currently on Amazon (TL902).

[@trythistv]

@@shifter65 I'm fairly sure I have the backup on my computer but never got around to putting it on the new site. Shouldn't be much trouble, and I do say there is a link, so I should have one lol. The laminator has held up great. I'm still using it however many years later (somewhere around 6 or 7 I believe) and it still works perfect.

[@unboxedtravels]

@trythistv Could you please share the results of your tests of the thermistor and different resistance values ? I just bought a TL901X and took it apart, the thermistor is labelled TL902... But I guess it’s the same diode (more or less) and your results should carry over to my model. I was thinking of wiring in a 2K potentiometer to be able to adjust the temperature instead of using a fixed value. If you can’t, no worries, I’ll try and do my own testing with a laser thermometer. Thank you !

[@ancelb9590]

try out the Apache AL13P modifiable laminator hackaday.io/project/3363-apache-al13p-laminator-one-pass-pcb-toner-xfer

[@trythistv]

Ancel UnfetteredOne That looks like a pretty awesome unit! I may just have to build one of those sometime. thanks for sharing with me!

[@ancelb9590]

trythisiptv Yes it is, I can run from flexpcbs to about 2mm copper clad thru it with no adjustments. The mod. allows one pass toner transfer and one pass foiling onto toner layered onto metal.