2D 3D printed circuit board

[dbanner]

MDtoday, it seems like artcam is no longer available, do you happen to still have a copy of it you can put in a dropbox?

https://ulozto.net/hledej?q=Artcam

[Tibuck19]

MDtoday, it seems like artcam is no longer available, do you happen to still have a copy of it you can put in a dropbox?

[Tibuck19]

I do all my single and doubled sided prototype boards using isolation routing on my CNC mill and either Artcam or occaisionally Flatcam software, the latter being free. It has a learning curve but not that steep.
Artcam takes a good quality image file (Jpg, tif etc) and allows you to generate vectors then Gcode to drive the cnc.
Flatcam takes a Gerber file and allows you to produce a Gcode file directly. I prefer Artcam but it comes at a cost...but i do a lot of prototypes so for me is Ok.

Any reasonable quality (even China built) will work...the trick is to make it as rigid as you can and Very importantly have a good spindle and SHARP engraving bits..0.1inch 30deg type are fine.
For some reason when I try to upload finished PCB photo it is all black...anyways, you can do some fine pitch work with isolation...if your 3D printer is sturdy enough you can even attach a spindle to that..something around 4-8,000rpm is fine.

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cheers

Mdtoday

I also use flatcam, But only to open a .gbr file and use it to make a SVG , but ill defently look in too Artcam.
This is the end of the line, as far as using the 3d printer as a direct ink pcb tool, Im actually rather happy with the results seeing it being done on a 4 year old printer that hasn't gotten a lot of maintenance over the years.

[Tibuck19]

I couldn't expect to purchase any cheap mini CNC pcb mill from China and go happily milling away. I suspect some are better than others. Some may require small modifications and improvements. Others may be good right out of the box.
There are so many different ones available. Hard to know, except by others experiences.

Which is why I believe make one myself is a far better option, I can control the quality parts that goes in to making it.

[dbanner]

I couldn't expect to purchase any cheap mini CNC pcb mill from China and go happily milling away. I suspect some are better than others. Some may require small modifications and improvements. Others may be good right out of the box.
There are so many different ones available. Hard to know, except by others experiences.

[Mdtoday]

0.5mm are the bits I ordered, im pretty sure any smaller then that, ill have a hard time drilling. Here some improvement to the drawing pcb, seems like most of the Cnc software that open .gbr Gerber files do isolation routing rather then masking, Even eagle seems to be big on having use make a board that way. Is there a good reason for this? other then it is probably easier to ink transfer or UV masking lol

]

When I do my prototypes which are mostly SMD but often include TH components, I avoid drilling where possible unless its absolutely required for connectors or mounting holes etc, most things, even TH ICs can be soldered to topside copper, even wires and I use liquid latex to hold wires in place and as a strain relief. For me, they are only prototypes for proof of concept etc.
Oh, and when I want holes, I use the engraving toolpath generated for isolation milling, to 'peck' centre marks for each hole and then drill as Waltr has described, then you don't have a wandering .2mm bit at drill time and less chance of offset holes and snapped bits.
If you are doing a few boards of same design, then like Qiaozhi says, probably better option is fast turnaround pcb houses.
just my thoughts.
I hope you too find a way that suits your purpose
here is a link to flatcam

http://flatcam.org/

Mdtoday

[Mdtoday]

Yep, those little CNCs are fine and given they are useful for other 'widgets' are handy table top tools.

[Mdtoday]

As I understand it, isolation routing removes minimal amount of copper just to define the tracks/pads etc.
Really cool stuff. There are specific bits used for this purpose. I think it is best way to make prototype PCB for projects.
But CNC router must be very good one, not cheap China flexible.

I do all my single and doubled sided prototype boards using isolation routing on my CNC mill and either Artcam or occaisionally Flatcam software, the latter being free. It has a learning curve but not that steep.
Artcam takes a good quality image file (Jpg, tif etc) and allows you to generate vectors then Gcode to drive the cnc.
Flatcam takes a Gerber file and allows you to produce a Gcode file directly. I prefer Artcam but it comes at a cost...but i do a lot of prototypes so for me is Ok.

Any reasonable quality (even China built) will work...the trick is to make it as rigid as you can and Very importantly have a good spindle and SHARP engraving bits..0.1inch 30deg type are fine.
For some reason when I try to upload finished PCB photo it is all black...anyways, you can do some fine pitch work with isolation...if your 3D printer is sturdy enough you can even attach a spindle to that..something around 4-8,000rpm is fine.



cheers

Mdtoday

[Qiaozhi]

As I understand it, isolation routing removes minimal amount of copper just to define the tracks/pads etc.
Really cool stuff. There are specific bits used for this purpose. I think it is best way to make prototype PCB for projects.
But CNC router must be very good one, not cheap China flexible.

Have a look here -> http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showt...251#post239251

This is my "cheap" Chinese CNC router. It's best for making single-sided prototype boards, although it is possible to make double-sided boards as well, alignment of the two layers can be tricky. However, with such inexpensive professional PCBs available from China it's almost not worth the effort. I would personally recommend using JLCPCB -> https://jlcpcb.com/

[dbanner]

As I understand it, isolation routing removes minimal amount of copper just to define the tracks/pads etc.
Really cool stuff. There are specific bits used for this purpose. I think it is best way to make prototype PCB for projects.
But CNC router must be very good one, not cheap China flexible.

[Tibuck19]

Yes.
0.020 inch = 0.5mm is the smallest I have used.

Other is a 0.035inch = 0.9mm drill for header pins (0.024 inch square pins).

0.5mm are the bits I ordered, im pretty sure any smaller then that, ill have a hard time drilling. Here some improvement to the drawing pcb, seems like most of the Cnc software that open .gbr Gerber files do isolation routing rather then masking, Even eagle seems to be big on having use make a board that way. Is there a good reason for this? other then it is probably easier to ink transfer or UV masking lol

[waltr]

That's why I asked lol I can see the problem of braking drill bits, What size do you use> 0.5mm or a 0.3.

Yes.
0.020 inch = 0.5mm is the smallest I have used.

Other is a 0.035inch = 0.9mm drill for header pins (0.024 inch square pins).

[Tibuck19]

Yes I have.

I have done a few double sided but these are real hard to ensure top-bottom alignment.
I will do simple single sided boards one off boards.

I use dry transfer patterns for ICs and pads. Large 'ground' areas I paint with enamel model paint as a resist.

Holes are drilled with a Dremel drill press and carbide drills. This is the most tedious part as breaking drills is very easy.

For more complex or if I need multiple boards I have them made. It is much nicer to have plated through holes, solder mask and silk text.

That's why I asked lol I can see the problem of braking drill bits, What size do you use> 0.5mm or a 0.3.

[waltr]

Do you make and drill your own boards ? or have them made?

Yes I have.

I have done a few double sided but these are real hard to ensure top-bottom alignment.
I will do simple single sided boards one off boards.

I use dry transfer patterns for ICs and pads. Large 'ground' areas I paint with enamel model paint as a resist.

Holes are drilled with a Dremel drill press and carbide drills. This is the most tedious part as breaking drills is very easy.

For more complex or if I need multiple boards I have them made. It is much nicer to have plated through holes, solder mask and silk text.

[Tibuck19]

Very cool. I don't think I have patience to build a high quality CNC machine from scratch. It doesn't seem worth it unless you're getting into some serious projects that makes it worth the effort and not to mention the cost involved.
I don't use eagle, so not too familiar with it. I use Sprint to draw up simple layouts quickly and it's easy to change the size of the pads. With eagle I'm sure it's very easy to resize the footprints, but I couldn't tell you offhand.
I have Eagle installed on my Linux OS, but I hardly ever use it.
I've been playing around with Kicad these days, very nice software indeed.

Im using the free version of Eagle perhaps that why I can't change it, i'm rather new to those kind of cad software, I for have kicad, only looked at it a few time, Do you know if it can export the board layout in image format ? like .png there are far from height end but to be honest I do enjoy designing, and making them, and figuring out how to get everything running. for me that most of the fun, ill get everything working and then ill move on loll I must love misery lol.