Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Laser "route" Printed Circuit Boards

Laser drilling of via's is not new, maybe 10 years old. And yes, pulsed Yag.
If you look at any compact board from the east, the via's are barely
visible. All laser drilled, at a hellish rate.

I still think (without trying) that good resolution PCB etching could be
obtained using a fine wire and EDM or ECM in a raster format.

Roland



2009/11/7 Jon Elson <elson@...>

>
>
> Roland Jollivet wrote:
> > Hi alan
> >
> > Knee jerk response is; If you want to use a CO2 laser, the power would
> have
> > to be a bit higher than if the substrate was a wafer of steel. Shiny
> copper
> > is THE best surface for reflecting CO2 laser beams and laser mirrors are
> > made of this for that reason. But maybe that means using 50W instead of
> 20W
> > ??
> >
> > What would the effect be of the burn on the fibreglass substrate? A thin
> > burnt surface between tracks is going to be conductive, maybe not at DC
> > levels, but definately at RF.
> >
> > Notwithstanding, those teeeny vias you see on PC cards are laser drilled.
> >
> If they are actually laser drilled, they are drilled by a really high
> power pulsed laser,
> YAG I think. The explosive vaporization of the epoxy leaves a fairly
> clean hole.
> Burning a gap with a CW laser would not do anywhere as clean a job, I
> don't think.
> The lasers are such expensive gear, and so easily damaged, that I think
> a lot of
> really fine holes are still mechanically drilled.
>
> Jon
>
>

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