[sdiy] Personal Pcb milling machines ???

[Michael Taylor]

We have a small CNC machine at work that we have used to prototype
PCBs. I think you should qualify what you can and can't do with one.
If you are looking to knock off 70's through-hole technology, they
work fine. If you are looking for very dense, modern SMT projects,
then they definitely don't have the resolution that you are looking
for.

You also have to be careful with the media because the copper coated
plates are thin and can warp. That means that one end of the plate is
perfect for the z-axis height, and the other is 2mm higher and your
machine is cutting all the way through the plate. YMMV.

 Desktop CNC's are also cool if you find yourself paying for silk
screened face plates on a regular basis.

On Wed, Dec 30, 2015 at 10:17 AM, Richie Burnett
<rburnett at richieburnett.co.uk> wrote:
> We had a cheap (£2k) PCB milling machine at work, and in my experience it wasn't worth the hassle. It was almost up to scratch for very basic student/school electronics projects, but fell far short of anything I could use for professional development work.
>
> Too limited in terms of min track and gap widths to be useful for modern SMDs, and had to change DRC rules and design practices so much to suit the limitations of the milling machine that the final design had little resemblance to a professionally manufactured PCB. Much better to pay a few quid/dollars and let professional fabrication services like PCB train take the strain in my opinion. No DRC limitations, and you can go straight to volume production with just a phone call to the board house.
>
> -Richie,
>
> PS. belated Happy Christmas and best wishes to everyone for the New Year. Our baby daughter was born on 18th Dec, and looking after a newborn is taking its toll, so might not be on SDIY as much these days!
>
> Sent from my Xperia SP on O2
>
>
> ---- Dan Snazelle wrote ----
>
>>Does anyone on here own a pcb Miller ? I am starting to spend a lot on quick prototypes and am just wondering if throwing down a couple grand would mean I could go straight from a gerber to a testable board in an hour
>>
>>But I'm sure there are downsides
>>
>>
>>Any info appreciated!!
>>
>>Sent from my iPhone
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