Homebrew PCBs

I have been looking into creating crosshairs on my regular drill press with a 
pair of low-cost ($5) laser pointers, each setup to project a thin straight 
line.  By using 2, it would eliminate any error due to varying board 
thicknesses.  Still need to find a laser pointer that can project a thin line 
though.  Most of the ones I have seen will do points, stars, hearts, etc.

BTW, I was in Harbor Freight (here in the U.S.) a few days ago, and they have 
the 8" drill press on sale again for an awesome price of $40.  This is a 
proper "full-size" drill press, and I much prefer this over a wobbly dremel 
or hobby-type drill.  No, it's definitely not as fast, but is excellent for 
drilling PCB's, costs less, and is much quieter.

Cheers,
-Neil.



On Wednesday 09 July 2003 05:19, Leon Heller scribbled:
> Having seen an old manual Excellon PCB drilling machine in action recently,
> I got to thinking about an up-to-date version suitable for home
> construction.
>
> The nice thing about the Excellon was the large screen showing the
> magnified pad with cross- hairs, so that the drill could be exactly centred
> on the pad. One way to achieve this might be to use a webcam with a
> suitable lens attached underneath the PCB, with some software to create the
> cross-hairs. Alignment of the system could be achieved by lowering the
> drill with a bit in it, so that it was in focus, and moving the webcam/lens
> in the X and Y planes until the tip of the drill was centred. Centering a
> pad, then operating the drill, should result in the hole being exactly in
> the pad centre.
>
> It might be easier mechanically  to mount the camera horizontally, and use
> a 45 degree mirror beneath the drill table.
>
> I might try this with the rather crummy Microcraft drill and stand I use.
> Refinements like an automatic clamp for the PCB, and automatic drill feed,
> could be added, of course.
>
> Any comments?
>
> Leon