Homebrew PCBs

starsnstripes_2003:
> I already had thought about a simple footswitch,
> But it would only turn on the Dremel.

Why the need for a footswitch to turn the drill on
and off?  I just turn on the drill, drill all the
holes, and then turn it off.

Dave Mucha:
> For the PCB drilling, which when done manually is
> boringly repetitive,

(One might also say that it is repetitive boring :-)

> I was thinking that if one used a solenoid to peck
> the drill into the board, it would leave your hands
> free to move the board.

One of the reasons I made the platform move up into
the drill, instead of the usual drill-moves-toward-
platform, is that you can position the board and
drill the holes while keeping both hands on the board.

For Starsnstripe's version, you could hold the drill
up with a spring, and pull the drill down using a wire
looped around your big toe.

> But, then I think a full CNC unit would be the most
> fun to make.
> Dave

Definitely :-)

Dan Mauch (http://www.seanet.com/~dmauch/) sells
CNC kits and has some great info on his site.  He
built a CNC drill machine which was described in
Nov 93 Nuts & Volts.  As I recall, he used a stepper
motor controlled X Y table, and a stepper motor to
raise and lower a Dremel tool.  He says he has drilled
200000 holes with it and is still using it.

If I was to build such a thing, I would move the PCB
in the X direction and the drill bit in the Y and Z
direction, using heavy-duty ball-bearing drawer slides
for the linear X and Y bearings, and a rotary bearing
on a long arm for the "Z" motion.  I think moving the
board and drill on separate bearings would give better
stiffness than having a Y bearing on top of an X bearing.
I would use a flexible drill shaft accessory (e.g.
Dremel) to hold the drill -- that would be a lot lighter
and easier to move around than the drill motor.

Stock Drive Products / Stirling Instruments
(http://www.sdp-si.com/) has some higher-precision parts
that could be used.  They also have some CNC products
and info under their Linear Motion Products tab.

Cheers,
- Jan



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In a message dated 7/26/2003 4:07:35 PM Central Standard Time, 
kok@... writes:

> For Starsnstripe's version, you could hold the drill up with a spring, and 
> pull the drill down using a wire looped around your big toe.
> 
Is this the ARKANSAS method, or WEST VIRGINIA?



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----- Original Message ----- 

  From: JanRwl@... 
  To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 6:32 PM
  Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: laptop drill press - foot operated drilling


  In a message dated 7/26/2003 4:07:35 PM Central Standard Time, 
  kok@... writes:

  > For Starsnstripe's version, you could hold the drill up with a spring, and 
  > pull the drill down using a wire looped around your big toe.
  > 
  Is this the ARKANSAS method, or WEST VIRGINIA?

  When I lived in Iowa, I had a spring with a string and a series of pulleys to remote control my lights, until I could afford X10....

  As far as the footswitch control in the US, Polycase makes an enclosure (PS series) with an integrated 120V plug, all one would need to do is add a transformer, relay, snubber, receptacle and phone jack to safety control the drill. 

  Thanks
  Ron


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