Homebrew PCBs

Nice looking machine! Good to see you back, John.

Steve Greenfield AE7HD

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "kz1927" <kz1927@...> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> 
> First thing...my apologies to anyone Not interested.
> (I know there are many....;)
> 
> I used to make the Fireball CNC machines. That actually
> began here on this group back in 2006. Many small desktop
> machines were made, but demand was for more cutting space
> and larger machines.
> 
> The larger a machine became, the more of a "general purpose"
> machine it also became.....in order to stay as inexpensive
> as possible.
> 
> "General purpose" meaning that even the slightest flexibilty
> or play in a machine will often translate to limits of what
> can be done with the tiny little (brittle) carbide bits often
> used for PCB work.
> 
> Demand was pretty good for the Fireball V90 machine. It's
> capable of doing some very good PCB work and there are many
> examples of them on the internet. Demand was enough that I
> wasn't able to keep up...as a one person maker of them...so
> Fireballcnc was sold to someone better able to produce them.
> Probotix.com
> 
> But, I was still intensely interested in the small machine that
> could do extremely fine work. My purposes were for making jewelry
> parts with very, very fine detail in them...I didn't and still
> don't use them for PCB work. It's a thing I just never had time for.
> But I did need as fine of detail as I could possibly get from
> any cnc machine...that'd be anywhere near affordable for me.
> 
> I always have liked the smaller, more compact machine sizes and
> I find them more practical. So, I'm back to making something as
> close to a CNC "PCB machine" as I can get.
> 
> Smaller machines aren't as popular as larger ones, so it works
> out well enough that I can put more time and attention in each
> of the machines I'm making now.
> 
> My new machine...called "A4" due to it's cutting area being near the
> size of a common sheet of printer paper has very high potential
> for very fine trace PCB work with a design intended for rigidity and
> strength.
> 
> Metal elements are incorporated throughout, but it still keeps
> the MDF basic frame, which is very beneficial for damping vibrations
> and resonances that can be problematic in all-metal designs....I have
> made/tried all-metal machines repeatedly over the years.
> 
> A more rigid Z axis is also used. It's capable of handling any trim
> router as well as the finer spindles for super fine work such as
> the Paul Jones and the Wolfgang Engineering spindles.
> 
> As far as an affordable machine that may be excellent for PCB milling
> and also handling heavier duty tasks like enclosure work, I believe
> it's as good of a machine as can be found. The goal in it's making
> has been as fine of work as can be coaxed from any inexpensive
> solution for very fine milling.
> 
> I will add that it's not an automatic or easy thing to do. It takes
> a lot of practice to learn software, feed rates, spindle speeds,
> how to choose a "right" cutting bit. But with patience and determination,
> the machine can do as fine of milling of many materials as I'm able
> to get them to do.
> 
> Fireballcnc began right here at Homebrew_PCBs. It's turned out to
> be a genuine success. I myself have no more part of it, but I still
> love making the smaller...though less popular...machines. I've always
> thought they were better suited for the finer work I needed from
> a cnc machine. So, I'm starting something new and beginning to
> produce some of these machines now that a design has been tested
> for a while and "finalized". The machine is called "Microcarve A4"
> 
> Anyone interested can see it's progression...a very long thread...
> at cnczone....
> 
> http://www.cnczone.com/forums/diy-cnc_router_table_machines/109390-my_newest_desktop_machine.html
> 
> Also beginning a Yahoo group for the machines...
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/microcarve/
> 
> Once again, I apologize to those who aren't interested.
> Thanks for your patience....
> 
> :)
> John Hansford
>