Homebrew PCBs

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@...m, 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
> >
> >
> >
>