Looking for a PCB Mill that can remove/copper / drill holes with .1 spacing
Ralphw wrote 05/15/2022 at 14:40 • 0 pointsI'm trying to find a modest CNC machine that can drill a copper-plated PCB.
This would hopefully be an alternative to using chemicals to etching the copper traces from the PCB.
This will help me move from wire-wrap construction to PCBs.
Ideally, the solution would:
* take in a Gerber file (on the host machine running linux)
* send positioning commands to the motor
Boards would have about 15-20 chips onboard, so 500 holes for ICs would be topical, another 100 holes for discrete components, and 100 holes for the bus connector.
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I have a CNC mill that I bought about 15 years ago but the same general model is still sold all over aliexpress etc. it's a 3040 CNC with VFD spindle. I have upgraded mine with the USBMech CNC card and some generic stepper drivers so it does not need a parallel port.
From there, you still need something to create gerber files (many options) and then convert those gerber files to CNC code (I use FlatCam). Plus the steep learning curve of CNC in itself. Then finally making the PCB and the tip snaps off the cutter and you throw it away and start again. Then there is still the lack of solder mask, silk screen, vias and pad tinning. 2 sided boards can be made but it's not overly simple.
Having said all that - Really consider it's ROI when places like JLCPCB, PCBWay, DirtCheap Dirty PCBs exist that can have professionally made boards delivered to you in a handful of days at cheap prices. I have been making boards for years using various methods - Pen, Toner Transfer, CNC and Fabshop.
CNC is cool for making a couple of proto boards but it's not for everyone. I have not made a board in over 2 years despite having all the equipment because it's just so cheap and easy to order them online and you get a much more professional result.
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Maybe this can be of some interest
https://www.hackster.io/news/mill-single-or-dual-layer-pcbs-with-ant-s-desktop-cnc-machine-280d5b103540
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX44z-SSL7LzcB4xxgUdHHA
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I was inspired by the $10 PCB Mill project on hackaday, but my budget is larger.
This looks like it's an approximate solution, but requires Windows to operate. I don't have that OS.
https://www.amazon.com/Upgrade-Version-3018-Engraver-Controller/dp/B07MDG7R2J/ref=asc_df_B07MDG7R2J/?tag=hyprod-20
LinuxCNC looks like an interesting solution, but it talks about controlling stepper motors with a Parallel port. (http://linuxcnc.org/)
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Pretty much the whole stack turned up in my feed -- maybe because I grabbed a less-used device with an expired HaD session open. So...
If I may pitch my own project...
10-20 TH ICs sounds like boards bigger than 55mm x 55mm so this isn't your final answer, but if your "larger" budget includes a small multiple of $10, access to a laser cutter and some time, here's a very low cost way to get into working out the toolchain and figuring out what to look for next: #Minamil: a minimal CNC mill. And friends. Small work area but more precise than a 3018 - at least more precise than what I've found on Teh Internet of peoples' 3018 output. Small footprint too.
<2min video of fine pitch circuit milling: https://vimeo.com/629619133
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