PCB Milling

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

If PCB milling is a way to scratch out copper of a copper board, can I use a grinder to scratch copper off the board?

2

the "End bit" of a mill is designed to work when they are moving sideways , now sure how a grinder works, but it would have to be a precision grinder ;
and would of course have to be a spindle not a wheel

3

What if I want to make a handmade PCB, can I use some sort of grinder to remove the remove the top layer of copper?
Does a PCB contain only one layer of copper?

4

ohh home etching is my Favorite thing in the world 8) I would not recommend milling..if you give me a second i can put together a comprehensive list of materials and options for you ..if that is what you want? or do you REALLY want to use a mill? because there are methods where you can have a printed board in minutes and not even break a sweat, while still wearing your pajamas

5

Does that means that both ways can be used to generate a PCB?
If you'd let me choose, I'll choose milling as it is not that messy. (with hazardous substances and others, worry, just a kid)

6

PCB etching with ferric chloride is not much hazardous AFAIK, just a little messy if you are not careful. If you have a pair of gloves and some newspapers to protect the floor you will be okay.

7

Does that means that both ways can be used to generate a PCB?

8

in my experience of etching at home i have not gotten a drop of anything anywhere ever.. i mean unless your building a huge board , your most likely only going to be using tiny bits of this stuff, for example if you do photoresist method the developer is suppose to be mixed 10:1 with watter, so i use the bottle cap as measurement 1 bottle cap of developer and ten caps of water, ive touched it and its harmless, then the copper etchant you have to use pure and even that is a small amount just enough so that it slightly flows over your board when placed inside a plastic container, and i would buy the etchant from radio shack as oppose to mixing your own

9

i would rather let my kid etch with chemicals then a mill ...should i ever have kids :confused:

10

First, MOST pc boards you would use for home board making are single side of copper.

You can use many methods of removing the copper you do not want, to make a circuit. Then you also may have to drill small holes in the board for components that have wire leads.

There are nice high-precision milling machines that I have used that can make pretty good circuit boards from the usual board design files. But they are specialized and expensive. Like over $10,000 . Do you have a milling machine available to you? What kind? Computer controlled??

I've made amplifiers that worked by marking the pattern on the copper with a marker, and etching it. But they were not pretty!

You also might use "stripboard" (Stripboard - Wikipedia) which is easy for prototyping. You cut the strips crosswise to separate different sections to make your circuit. There are nice little "graver" (like "Engraving") tools that work well.

Some people have made whole circuits with a graver, but not me!

And there are also "Wire Wrap" (Wire wrap - Wikipedia) and "Progressive wiring" ( http://elm-chan.org/docs/wire/wiring_e.html) techniques.

I have built entire working desktop computers with Wirewrap. But not since the Pentium era...

You can (and probably will) change your mind and wiring techniques over time...