Homebrew PCBs

Ed Okerson wrote:

>>      Ed Okerson wrote:
>> >> Maybe but its a matter of pure luck that any given person comes across
>> >> one of these small drill machines your talking about. And spending
>> >> $1000's on a brand new drill machine is just not an option. Building a
>> >> CNC machine from scratch is a mammoth task compared, to building a
>> >> manual drill press.
>> >
>> >
>> > That is simply not true.  I built a CNC mill/drill based on the Brute
>> > design at www.crankorgan.com and it only took about a week to make it.
>> > Granted it is not a professional unit, but it is accurate down to
>> > 0.00025", plenty good enough for hobby PCB drilling!  It cost
>>virtually
>> > nothing to build, mostly scrap aluminum channel and scrap plastic
>>blocks.
>> >
>> > Ed Okerson
>> >
>>
>> They look interesting, but what is used as the linear slides ? How are
>> they attached to the U channel ?
>> Is the lead screw standard zinc steel threaded bar or is it  the true
>> thing ?
>> It looks like X, Y and Z axis are identically built, with only the
>> length of the Z axis being smaller.
>> What CNC software are you using ? Did that take a week to write too ?
>> And most important, what is the minimum tooling required to build one of
>> these ?
> 
> 
> The linear slides are just blocks of high density plastic cut to ride
> inside the lip on the aluminum channel.  I used 1/4 20tpi stainless steel
> threaded rod for the lead screws on mine.  For software I am using EMC
> from www.linuxcnc.org to run the machine, and I do PCB layout with Eagle. 
> I am still in the early stages of getting this all working, and my spare
> time is very limited, but I built that machine the week of Thanksgiving
> when I was off work.
> 
> As for minimum tooling, not much.  I used a skil saw to cut the plastic
> and aluminum, although a table saw would be better if you have one, but it
> could also be done with a hand saw if needed.  Also a drill to make all
> the holes for mounting screws.  I did make some custom fittings to center
> the threaded rod in the bearings with a lathe, but that is really not
> necessary.
> 
> If you are not inventive, then I would recommend ordering the plans for
> $35, but I built mine just from looking at the pictures on the web site.
> 
> Ed Okerson
> 
> 


Thanks Ed, for your response. I now see there is even easier ways of 
making a "bare bones" CNC drill machine. I'm not interested in building 
one because I still think the effort to get the whole project fully 
functional and usable enough to replace my manual drill press would 
require a lot more work than I'm willing to put it.

Adam