RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: milling circuit boards

HI Paul,

Seems you're of like mind in regard to making PCBs on a mill.

Do you know about the PCB-Gcode ULP? There's also a Yahoo list to support
it. I'm having fun with it.

Good to hear Sheetcam has an HPGL import. I think Vector CAD/CAM does as
well, but it's an extra (?). I just backplot the Gerbers generated by
PCB-Gcode (although they could be used directly, I like to EXAMINE the tool
paths).

Alan KM6VV

> [mailto:CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of paultitchener
>
> > Is it really and truly cheaper to make these
> > boards after you factor in your time and amortize your equipment?
> >
>
> I make boards and prototypes using everything from hand wired
> protoboards to professional board houses, and I think if you already
> have a CNC machine in place, as I do, there are times when milling a
> PCB board makes sense. If I have a project where the build quantity
> will be low, professional appearance or packaging is important
> (ruling out a handwired proto) the board is on the simple side and
> I'm in a hurry and expecting multiple revisions, then milling the
> boards is the way to go. Getting set up to do the first one was a
> hassle, but now that I have the process in place its pretty quick
> and painless. I don't like messing with chemicals and if you etch
> the board you have to set up the CNC machine to drill the board
> anyway, which is about the same effort as setting up to both drill
> and mill it, so I prefer milling a board over etching it.
>
> I use Eagle for the board design, and Eagle will output the design
> in the HP plotting format. I then read that and the Excellon drill
> file into the SheetCAM program (www.sheetcam.com) to generate the G
> code to drill and mill the board.
>
> I don't know if I could justify setting up a CNC mill or router from
> scratch to do this just for PCB prototypes, but if you have a CNC
> mill in place already its definitely worth setting it up to mill and
> drill your boards.
>
> Paul T.
>