Homebrew_PCBs

Hi All.
I uploaded a picture of a milled PCBoard to the photo
area. The board was milled using a Dremel tool and a homemade
milling machine. Milling speed 6" per minute at 16,000 RPMs. That
is how the boards looks before it is deburred. Notice the pre drilled
holes done during milling. The board gets deburred using a steel
bristle brush the size of a tooth brush. That board is a Piker 4X
controller board. If you have any questions please ask them here.

John

Very nice. Here's a link, click on "Kleinbauer":
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/lst

Was this done on a milling machine made from one of your plans?

Steve Greenfield

--- crankorgan <john@...> wrote:

> Hi All.
> I uploaded a picture of a milled PCBoard to the photo
> area. The board was milled using a Dremel tool and a homemade
> milling machine. Milling speed 6" per minute at 16,000 RPMs. That
> is how the boards looks before it is deburred. Notice the pre
> drilled
> holes done during milling. The board gets deburred using a steel
> bristle brush the size of a tooth brush. That board is a Piker 4X
> controller board. If you have any questions please ask them here.
>
> John

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Hi Steve,
I milled that one with a Brute. I orignally designed my
mills so people would have a machine to learn on. Someone asked
me if I could design a mill that would do circuit boards. My first
machines would mill, but the traces were not that good. It wasn't the
threaded rod. It was my drive nut! The wider the drive nut the less
backlash. I now use 1/2" wide Delrin tapped with a good 1/4-20 tap.

John

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., Steve Greenfield <alienrelics@y...> wrote:
> Very nice. Here's a link, click on "Kleinbauer":
> http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/lst
>
> Was this done on a milling machine made from one of your plans?
>
> Steve Greenfield
>
> --- crankorgan <john@k...> wrote:
> > Hi All.
> > I uploaded a picture of a milled PCBoard to the photo
> > area. The board was milled using a Dremel tool and a homemade
> > milling machine. Milling speed 6" per minute at 16,000 RPMs. That
> > is how the boards looks before it is deburred. Notice the pre
> > drilled
> > holes done during milling. The board gets deburred using a steel
> > bristle brush the size of a tooth brush. That board is a Piker 4X
> > controller board. If you have any questions please ask them here.
> >
> > John
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
> http://taxes.yahoo.com/

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., "crankorgan" <john@k...> wrote:

> Hi Steve,
> I milled that one with a Brute. I orignally designed my
> mills so people would have a machine to learn on. Someone asked
> me if I could design a mill that would do circuit boards. My first
> machines would mill, but the traces were not that good. It wasn't

the

> threaded rod. It was my drive nut! The wider the drive nut the less
> backlash. I now use 1/2" wide Delrin tapped with a good 1/4-20 tap.
>
> John

Hi John, nice looking board!

Have you ever tried a smaller cutter and doing traces between DIP
pins?

I've also read that a longer nut will reduce backlash. Have you ever
tried one of the long nuts used to cnnect 2 pieces of all thread
togeather? Of course with a good tap in delrin your probably getting
most of the backlash out anyway.

Another option is to split the nut in the direction of the rod (on
one side) and slightly pinch it to eliminate even more backlash. This
technique works better on standard threads than on Acme threads due
to the angle of the threads.

mike

Hi Mike,
I am using the 60 degree bit from Think and Tinker. I mill
a little deeper than normal so my customers will have less problems
soldering the board. My new board has a few traces that go in between
the traces. Soon I will find out how that works out.

John

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., "n4onl" <umrk@b...> wrote:
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., "crankorgan" <john@k...> wrote:
> > Hi Steve,
> > I milled that one with a Brute. I orignally designed my
> > mills so people would have a machine to learn on. Someone asked
> > me if I could design a mill that would do circuit boards. My first
> > machines would mill, but the traces were not that good. It wasn't
> the
> > threaded rod. It was my drive nut! The wider the drive nut the
less
> > backlash. I now use 1/2" wide Delrin tapped with a good 1/4-20
tap.
> >
> > John
>
> Hi John, nice looking board!
>
> Have you ever tried a smaller cutter and doing traces between DIP
> pins?
>
> I've also read that a longer nut will reduce backlash. Have you
ever
> tried one of the long nuts used to cnnect 2 pieces of all thread
> togeather? Of course with a good tap in delrin your probably
getting
> most of the backlash out anyway.
>
> Another option is to split the nut in the direction of the rod (on
> one side) and slightly pinch it to eliminate even more backlash.
This
> technique works better on standard threads than on Acme threads due
> to the angle of the threads.
>
> mike

Hi Mike,
Tapping a block of Delrin or PVC produces a nice
tight nut for a hobby machine. Those long joining nut have
less backlash than a small brass nut. The long joining nuts used to
be available in brass. Most joining nuts are steel. I was taught
one part should be softer. Plastic on aluminum- brass on steel.
In the end you still have the play in your spindle. My machines
are in the $150 range. Improving the spindle costs as much as the
machine. I am working on a PCBPal. I am looking to make a super
cheap PCBoard machine. I am using roller skate wheels-PVC-threaded
rod and MDF. I want a machine that can be built in a few hours. The
Pant O Plot was a warmup!

John

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., "n4onl" <umrk@b...> wrote:
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@y..., "crankorgan" <john@k...> wrote:
> > Hi Steve,
> > I milled that one with a Brute. I orignally designed my
> > mills so people would have a machine to learn on. Someone asked
> > me if I could design a mill that would do circuit boards. My first
> > machines would mill, but the traces were not that good. It wasn't
> the
> > threaded rod. It was my drive nut! The wider the drive nut the
less
> > backlash. I now use 1/2" wide Delrin tapped with a good 1/4-20
tap.
> >
> > John
>
> Hi John, nice looking board!
>
> Have you ever tried a smaller cutter and doing traces between DIP
> pins?
>
> I've also read that a longer nut will reduce backlash. Have you
ever
> tried one of the long nuts used to cnnect 2 pieces of all thread
> togeather? Of course with a good tap in delrin your probably
getting
> most of the backlash out anyway.
>
> Another option is to split the nut in the direction of the rod (on
> one side) and slightly pinch it to eliminate even more backlash.
This
> technique works better on standard threads than on Acme threads due
> to the angle of the threads.
>
> mike