It appears much easier, IMO, to just buy a big spool of thin wire, and
thread it through all vias in a board (in one piece). then solder, then
cut the crisscross pieces away. I think the CNC would be more work.
Maybe it is practical to make small studs of copper, just a bit longer
than the hole. Place the board on spacers to allow the studs to protrude
maybe 0.5mm or less, above a steel plate. then take a hammer and hammer on
the board, so that the studs are riveted in place.
ST
On Thu, 26 May 2005 16:21:51 +0200, Alan King <alan@...> wrote:
>
> It is a lot of hassle and work for light or medium work.
> Thinking about it again, I see that it isn't the soldering that is the
> problem, but the locating and cutting and crimping the wires. Soldering
> both
> sides is easy enough after they're in place.
> And that part could easily be automated. A small tube just above the
> board
> with a stepper feeding the wire through the tube. Say 30 gauge wire
> wrap wire
> with no insulation. Have the holes just barely larger than the wire, so
> they
> don't need much bent over to hold it in. Locate the hole, feed just
> enough wire
> to go through with about 1/16th inch extra, move the board over slightly
> to the
> bending blocks to hold the wire in, cut the wire, move more to finish the
> bending, then repeat. A stationary wire feed/bending system and moving
> the
> board X and Y and this would be a breeze for a CNC setup. Put in a
> stationary
> vertical drill and you can do the holes too. Thin wire and you can get
> by with
> very little knife power, which is good since it must be thin and right
> at the board.
> For doing vias and drilling it might be worth making, and much simpler
> for
> low volume than trying to do PTH.. Same aluminum angle I use for CNC
> support
> would work great for bending/guide pieces, and the wire feed and knife
> would be
> easy.
> Alan