Thank you for the response Mark - what you are saying is one of the reasons I've been hesitate to invest much money/time in a homebrew CNC mill - concern it would not hold the tolerances required for good PCB milling. Even a home built CNC can cost several hundred bucks!
Maybe when I win the BIG lottery I'll buy the $9K CNC :) (Folks keep telling me I must buy a ticket before I can possibly win:(
Ken H.
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Mark Lerman <mlerman@...> wrote:
>
> I've been milling boards for over a year. It works very well, though
> the learning curve is a little steeper than you might think. I use an
> AccurateCNC 360, which is good enough for 10 mil traces and can be
> used for even finer traces with some care. Double sided is easy,
> drilling is a snap, and being able to mill the edges of the board
> gives a very clean cut. I'm not sure whether a simple homemade mill
> would work as well, but over a smaller area it should work. The 360
> is about 9K (I think), very pricey for the hobbiest, but it can also
> be used for milling plastic and even non ferrous metals. Support for
> this machine is unbelievably great!! The company goes way out of it's
> way to provide support and repairs, even out of warrantee, and they
> reply to email extremely promptly. I blew the spindle driver while
> cutting plastic, and they replaced the driver with a newer one that
> won't blow at no charge. While they had the machine, they completely
> checked the calibration and added some hardware to make cutting
> plastic and softer materials much easier. Again at no charge.
>
> The usual disclaimer - I have no financial interest whatsoever in
> their company, just a very satisfied customer.
>
> Mark
>
>
> At 08:49 PM 3/17/2010, you wrote:
> >Well Mat - I was hoping someone would respond and get a discussion
> >going on CNC milling of PCB. I have been reading about it and it
> >sure sounds slick - the videos look good.
> >
> >Double sided should be a snap. Drill holes are automated.
> >
> >It all "sounds" good, but like you I'd like to know more.
> >
> >Ken H.
> >
> >--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "mat_henshall" <mat@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I am considering getting a small DIY 3 axis CNC router, something
> > like this:
> > >
> > > http://zentoolworks.com/
> > >
> > > To, amongst other things, make PCB's with. Clearly a useful tool
> > for drilling holes, but I have seen youtube videos (eg
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFQotB1aQBQ) of people using this
> > type of device for milling the pcb itself.
> > >
> > > I currently use UV Sensitive PCB method for making prototype
> > boards which is OK, but is time consuming, can be error prone and messy.
> > >
> > > Anybody got any thoughts on milling PCB's? Good, bad the ugly?
> > >
> > > One though that occurred to me is that after making it, spraying
> > some form of solder resist to the board and then using some sort of
> > polishing bit to remove the resist where needed might be a nice touch?
> > >
> > > Mat
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >------------------------------------
> >
> >Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
> >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBsYahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>