Homebrew PCBs

That depends on how much junk you have around and how valuable your time 
time is.  I built mine from an XY table my old boss gave me, a drawer 
slide with a Dremel attached with hose clamps, some surplus stepper 
motors and samples of Allegro driver chips.  I think the only cash 
outlay I made was an $8 laptop so I wouldn't have to use my good one.  
Of course, if I wanted to mill traces, the Z axis would have to be 
perpendicular to X and Y, which it is not.  And more software would need 
to be written.  But for now, it drills my holes and cuts out the board.  
Then I use toner transfer.

Kerry

sailingto wrote:
> 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
>>>>