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PCB Production Process

For the week group assigment ( Aitor, Eve and Nicolo), this week we had to characterize the specifications of your PCB production process. We used FabModules to turn a to image (.png) into a file that the Roland mill machine can read (.rml). We did the process for the traces (1/64) and for the outline (1/32) (i explain better the process on my personal assignment).


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After do the both process we fond a issues with the toolpath on the outline file. To fix it we just we just flip the png , made to files and used both to cut.


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To milling the PCB we used the machine Roland Make sure the floor of the mill where the board will sit is clean of any gunk or sticky stuff. A bumpy surface can ruin your board or break the mill bit.

Make sure the PCB board is flat, use a ruler to check the surface.

Use double-sided tape to stick the board onto the mill floor.


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Add the mill bit: 1/64 for traces and 1/32 for outline. Once done with the traces, change it for the outline bit 1/32 which is thicker and can cut through. Watch out for not tightening the bit too much and that the bit does not wiggle as it is easily breakable.


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Find the X/Y axis using the Cursor Step to control movement in increments of x100, x10 and x1 to find the origin. This should be more or less on the corner of the board, or next about 5mm from the last cut if one is sharing a board. The oly problem that we had was with the png, my group have a lot of experience with milling so it all went pretty good.

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Set the Z axis under: Set Origin Point by bringing the bit down incrementally so it nearly touches the board, then un-tighten it and manually lower it gently until it touches the board.

Set the X/Y axis under: Set Origin Point.

Press Cut, load file, then Output. The spindle will start immediately.

Adjust the speed down to 40% to begin with to make sure the spindle is working in the right direction, if all is good bring it up to 100%

DO NOT TOUCH THE SPINDLE SPEED! This should be left at 100% at all times.

You can Pause or Cancel the milling at any time through the Roland interface. To stop immediately lift the plexiglass shield and the operation will immediately halt. Press VIEW to inspect the PCB. Watch out not to reset your coordinates by mistake in the middle of the milling.

We can noticed the loss of definition close to the ends. It is a pretty simple process but that have to be done with attencion because the stools are really fragil. Something that i learned with the weeks is to make sure the board is weel fixed , i had more than one time mt board moving . Sometimes i had to start again the process and sometimes i had to break the board manually. laser
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Electronics Production

This week make an in-circuit programmer by milling the PCB. The printed circuit board (PCB) use conductive tracks of copper laminated to connect electronic components which are soldered to the board to make a programmable device. For my project i decided use "Brian PCB" as reference. AT the website i could get the PNGPNG ready and i just had to mill it.
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To mill i used FabModules to generate the traces for the milling machine. I choose Fabmodules instead of Modules because it's more intuitive interface, bu some of my classmates were having troubles with it. During the whole Fab Acadamy i dind't had any issue related to the fab modules so it for me was the best option to created rml files. First as a imput i add the png file, after as a output i chose Roland mill (.rml) , and for the process the PCB traces (1/64) or outline (1/32). For the machine i chose SRM-20 and i kept all the other settings as it comes in the default, press calculate to check the traces and press save to generate the file.


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With the RML files ready i went to the computer which is attach to the machine. I put the 1/64 tool first to do the inside part. I set the XY. I made the Z as lower as possible, and i let use the stoll to let the 1/64 gentlytouch the surface. After that i set it as my Z. Click on cut , select my file. Than i sent to mill pressing output. laser

I was able to check my work , pressing pause and view.

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After it milled, i put found all the components and started to sold it. I had issue because i soldered a LED on the wrong direction. When i was trying to remove it i took part of the copper and i had to put a cable to connect it.


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At the end i test it and the computer identify it as a pendrive but it could not recognize because it was not proggramed. After that i start to followed the same tutorial to program my board. I choose to do it on linux because it was easier than the windows.
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So first i first installed the Firmware. After i unzip it and Run with the command MAKE in the terminal. After that i had to edit the file Makefile for the type of my programmer and the microcontroller.
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I had a issue with the programmer and Estevan helped me update the softwares to work wit it. After i run the command "make flash" on the terminal and them "make fuses". It went well and after to check if it worked i unplug the programmer type lsusb, so i could check my board was recognized as a USBtiny.
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laser laser Here is the file