Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Posted by
Mike
on 2000-10-12 10:43:15 UTC
Thanks for everyone's help on CNC Software. Here's more of a niche
question for the group... Does anyone know of available software that will
convert standard Gerber (RS-274X) photo plot files you get out of printed
circuit board CAD software into G-Code for mechanical PCB trace milling?
It's a complex issue as the Gerber file (I believe) specifies an aperture,
start and end location for the piece of copper you want. The apertures
were originally selected from a wheel and light was directed onto a
photosensitive material to "plot" the trace. For a milled PCB, however,
you want to remove copper alongside the desired trace to isolate it from
the other traces. So in effect, the G-Code needs to cut away the copper
you don't want, leaving the traces you do as "islands".
There are some very expensive turn-key systems out there doing this stuff,
but I'm not aware of anyone who has it working at the hobbyist
level. Those who are making PCB's on a CNC mill or engraver, just draw the
entire PCB with isolation tracks by hand in regular CAD software. For a
very simple board, that's reasonable, but for anything more complex, it's a
nightmare in comparison to using a PCB CAD package that works directly from
the electrical schematic and does automatic trace routing.
Any help or even possible suggestions would really be appreciated!
Mike
question for the group... Does anyone know of available software that will
convert standard Gerber (RS-274X) photo plot files you get out of printed
circuit board CAD software into G-Code for mechanical PCB trace milling?
It's a complex issue as the Gerber file (I believe) specifies an aperture,
start and end location for the piece of copper you want. The apertures
were originally selected from a wheel and light was directed onto a
photosensitive material to "plot" the trace. For a milled PCB, however,
you want to remove copper alongside the desired trace to isolate it from
the other traces. So in effect, the G-Code needs to cut away the copper
you don't want, leaving the traces you do as "islands".
There are some very expensive turn-key systems out there doing this stuff,
but I'm not aware of anyone who has it working at the hobbyist
level. Those who are making PCB's on a CNC mill or engraver, just draw the
entire PCB with isolation tracks by hand in regular CAD software. For a
very simple board, that's reasonable, but for anything more complex, it's a
nightmare in comparison to using a PCB CAD package that works directly from
the electrical schematic and does automatic trace routing.
Any help or even possible suggestions would really be appreciated!
Mike
Discussion Thread
Tony Jeffree
2000-10-11 10:01:17 UTC
CNC Pro?
Carey L. Culpepper
2000-10-11 10:44:22 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC Pro?
cnc002@a...
2000-10-11 11:36:50 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC Pro?
Hugh Mahlendorf
2000-10-11 17:52:55 UTC
Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-11 18:19:16 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Doug Fortune
2000-10-11 18:42:43 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 00:06:12 UTC
re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 00:18:04 UTC
Re: Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
cnc4me@u...
2000-10-12 00:25:04 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 01:46:07 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Mariss Freimanis
2000-10-12 10:13:13 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Mike
2000-10-12 10:43:15 UTC
Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-12 13:09:47 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 14:29:14 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Jon Elson
2000-10-12 14:56:41 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 15:13:12 UTC
Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Mariss Freimanis
2000-10-12 15:16:38 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-12 15:34:55 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-12 15:42:17 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tom Caudle
2000-10-12 16:00:07 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tim Goldstein
2000-10-12 16:04:29 UTC
RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Mike
2000-10-12 16:23:17 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 16:30:29 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Anne Ogborn
2000-10-12 16:31:21 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-12 17:39:45 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Edward Rupp
2000-10-12 17:54:52 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tom Caudle
2000-10-12 19:27:33 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
cnc4me@u...
2000-10-12 19:27:52 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Dan Mauch
2000-10-12 19:42:46 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tom Caudle
2000-10-12 19:55:28 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
ballendo@y...
2000-10-12 19:59:32 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Dan Mauch
2000-10-12 20:02:26 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Ron Hanson
2000-10-12 21:33:00 UTC
RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-12 22:37:03 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Hugh Mahlendorf
2000-10-12 23:31:51 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Tony Jeffree
2000-10-12 23:43:46 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Ian Wright
2000-10-13 01:17:56 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
bfp
2000-10-13 03:04:50 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
cnc4me@u...
2000-10-13 08:36:52 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-13 09:19:54 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Ron Hanson
2000-10-13 09:37:50 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tim Goldstein
2000-10-13 09:41:15 UTC
RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Tony Jeffree
2000-10-13 10:52:15 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Hugh Prescott
2000-10-13 11:14:23 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-13 11:45:09 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
ballendo@y...
2000-10-13 12:20:13 UTC
Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
cnc4me@u...
2000-10-13 12:23:24 UTC
Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Henrik Olsson
2000-10-13 12:46:47 UTC
RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Jon Elson
2000-10-13 15:19:38 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Jon Elson
2000-10-13 15:47:36 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Edward Rupp
2000-10-13 16:51:23 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Hugh Mahlendorf
2000-10-13 19:19:21 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: re:Sanyo "Step-Syn" Stepper Motors
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-13 22:19:16 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Jon Elson
2000-10-13 23:27:26 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Jon Elson
2000-10-16 09:20:06 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Dennis Bohlke
2000-10-16 10:37:04 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-16 12:34:46 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
Alan Marconett KM6VV
2000-10-16 13:04:53 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Help: PCB Trace Milling Software
John Mesh
2007-01-08 23:44:13 UTC
CNC Pro?
Bob Muse
2007-01-09 03:14:39 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC Pro?
Amine BELHOUT
2007-01-09 10:50:17 UTC
RE : Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC Pro?
Seiman H
2007-01-09 11:20:23 UTC
Re: RE : Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-10 14:22:54 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Vince Endter
2007-01-10 16:03:36 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Stephen Wille Padnos
2007-01-10 16:47:48 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
John Dammeyer
2007-01-10 17:53:40 UTC
ELS and the Omikron
Jon Elson
2007-01-10 19:36:45 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
Ron Kline
2007-01-10 19:52:36 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-10 22:19:15 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Lester Caine
2007-01-11 00:42:54 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-11 05:44:31 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Lester Caine
2007-01-11 07:07:39 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-11 11:01:32 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Marv Frankel
2007-01-12 03:39:22 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-12 23:50:02 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-12 23:52:23 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?
art
2007-01-16 07:09:34 UTC
Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CNC Pro?
Mike Phillips
2007-01-16 22:14:02 UTC
Re: CNC Pro?