Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

----- Original Message -----
From: "lcdpublishing" <lcdpublishing@...>
To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:58 PM
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Isolation milling - what do the cutters look like
to do it?


> Hi guys,
>
> Later this year (perhaps next year or whenever I get my machine done),
> I want to give isolation milling a try. At first I thought a small
> end mill would be the tool to use, but the more I thought about it, I
> suspect that is not the case. After thinking about it further, I
> believe it would make more sense to use a "pointed" tool shaped like
> a 'V' or something. Does anyone know of some sources for the tool bits
> that work good for isolation milling? Primarily, I would like to see
> some detailed photos or drawings as I would probably attempt to grind
> my own - seeing as Stefan got me thinking about that now ;-)

LPKF makes machines for PCB milling, they might have details of the bits on
their web site. Ordinary HSS bits won't last very long, of course, you
really need to use tungsten carbide. AFAIK, LPKF don't do isolation
milling - they use the same Pulsonix software I use with a special output
option, and Pulsonix won't do copper isolation automatically. It can be done
manually, of course.

Leon