Hi, does anybody done a project stated in the title? I am planning to make a PCB making project that uses Ramps 1.4 and Arduino mega together with stepper motors and etc. The structure and framing of the project is similar to Ender 5 3D printer that have a platform. If you've done a project similar to this idea I need your help either in hardware or software. On the process, the machine will draw PCB layout on the Copper clad and then it will drill the holes on the layout. Any help or guide will be so much appreciated Thank you so much😇
Are you just going to write the layout with a pen for later etching or do you want to engrave it out with a cutter? If the latter you really want a cnc router and you will need a more rigid structure than a 3d printer. It will also do the drilling. There are lots of gantry routers on ebay, search for 3040 router for example. You can get the mechanics without controller.
Yes sir, the machine will just draw the layout on the PCB for later etching
That's an interesting approach. Do you have any experience using resist pens for making PCBs? I had some mixed results many years back. The lab where I worked did a lot of RF design where you really had to use the same prototype layout as for production to get any certainty the boards would work coming from the factory. Getting a prototype board properly made took weeks in those days so making them in the lab was attractive. The off-the-shelf resist pens were pretty unreliable and usually you got a lot of undercut and even broken tracks. We found that a Rotring professional drafting pens of a special design using "etching ink" was much more reliable but very hard to keep clean. Looking at a recent web page Modelling Electronics | Etch Resist PCB Marker Pen Tutorial they suggest going over the track at least twice to get a reliable result - of course if you have a plotter that's easy to do.
One of the issues might be the software to drive the pen in XY. Obviously standard PCB design software like KiCad can generate the Gerber files used by standard photo etch systems, and there are programs around that convert Gerber to "isolation routing" files to drive a CNC machine. I think this has become a much more popular way to do one-off pcbs than etch pens as small CNC routers have become much cheaper. In my later years working in dev labs though it became so quick and cheap to send PCB designs off to China it wasn't worth doing prototypes in-house - and you could do multilayer boards at not much more cost. I'm not sure there is software to convert Gerber to linear plot, have you found any?
Also think about the Z drive. Even a small drilling spindle is a lot heavier than a pen and for reliable PCB drilling it needs to run very concentric at 10k rpm and above. Then you need a stepper and linear slide for controlled feed.
So on the whole I think I would tackle this as more of a CNC gantry router than an XY plotter - the Z axis comes as part of the package and it fits in better with standard PCB workflow. I'd be very interested in your approach though.
What equipment are you going to use to drill the holes? The carbide drills used to drill FR4 are specially designed for just that purpose. You will need a drill that runs up to about 20,000 RPM. And you need to take care of the dust so you don't breathe it.
20k is good but you can drill at 6000 which is the max my mill runs at. Just feed slower.
True. I never ran the Dumore at max speed. Too noisy!
Looks a handy little machine and quite a good price too.
Yes, and with leadscrews on all 3 axes (no belts), its solid and precise. I draw it in cad, run it thru the dxf/gcode extractor, copy to microSD, and drill. Works great.
It is a GRBL based subset of standard Gcode - no canned sequences or subroutines. Do NOT expect it to run MACH3.
Mach3 can't drive a GRBL motion controller anyway... What do you stream the Gcode from as a matter of interest? What level of backlash do you get?
The gcode is placed on the microSD and inserted into the rear of the controller.
There is essentially zero backlash due to the preload on the DOUBLE THREADED leadscrews. The leadscrews on all 3 axis was one of the prime selling points for me -- that and the ~$300 USD price point.
The drive components all came preassembled and aligned. Mostly it was just final assembly of mounting the assembled gantry (X & Z) to the assembled base (Y) and attachment of minor components. Everything fit perfectly. Their support is "lifetime" too.
Do you mean 2 start?
The leadscrews have two threads. The follower uses both for preload, so the follower is always snug in the leadscrew, thus zero backlash.
A 2-in-1 CNC machine for PCB making is an ideal solution for those who want to save time and money while creating high-quality PCBs. This type of machine combines a CNC pen plotter and a CNC drilling machine, allowing you to quickly and accurately create professional-grade PCBs with a single device.
The pen plotter is great for creating intricate designs and patterns on the PCBs while the CNC drilling machine precisely drills holes in the boards, allowing you to connect components.
This combination of machines is a great way to save time and effort while producing high-quality PCBs.
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.