Week 4 - Electronics Production: Richard, David¶
Group members: Richard Shan, David Vaughn
Assignment¶
- Characterize the design rules for your in-house PCB production process: document feeds, speeds, plunge rate, depth of cut (traces and outline) and tooling.
- Document the workflow for sending a PCB to a board house
- Document your work to the group work page and reflect on your individual page what you learned
Work Distribution¶
| People | Description |
| Richard | Documentation |
| Richard | Term Definitions |
| Richard | Milling Trace Design |
| Richard | Milling Trace Testing (1/16", 1/32", 1/64") |
| Richard | Bit Characterization |
| David | Milling Trace Testing (1/32") |
| David | Boardhouse workflow |
Definitions¶
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Feed | The rate at which the cutting tool advances along the workpiece, usually measured in inches or millimeters per minute. |
| Speed | The rotational speed of the cutting tool or the workpiece, typically expressed in revolutions per minute (RPM). |
| Plunge Rate | The speed at which the cutting tool moves vertically into the workpiece, usually measured in inches or millimeters per minute. |
| Depth of Cut | The depth to which the cutting tool penetrates into the workpiece, determining the thickness of material removed. |
| Tooling | The various cutting tools used in the machining process such as drills and end mills. |
Bit Characterization¶
Bit Size |
Flute Length (mm) | Number of Flutes | Feed Rate (mm per min) | Plunge Rate (mm per min) | Spindle Speed (RPM) | Pass Depth (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/16" | 5.09 | 2 | 1650 | 381 | 27500 | 1 |
| 1/32" | 1.59 | 2 | 1100 | 381 | 27500 | 0.8 |
| 1/64" | 0.79 | 2 | 688 | 381 | 27500 | 0.4 |
Trace Width Testing¶
To test the trace widths that each bit was able to mill, we used a provided image from the Fab Academy Curriculum.
I then ran the design three times, each with a different bit. I used the 1/16” bit, 1/32” bit, and 1/64” bit.
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After milling the design thrice, here was the result of our test. The bottom left cut is by the 1/64th inch bit, the mid-top cut is by the 1/32nd inch bit, and the bottom right cut is by the 1/16th inch bit.
The following video shows the design being milled with the 1/64th inch bit.
We concluded that the 1/16” bit is good for clearing large areas, and the 1/64” bit is good for creating really thin traces and precise cutting. The 1/32” bit allows for more flexibility when milling with multiple bit types.
Sending to a Board House¶
- Create your design in your preferred CAD software (common softwares include KiCAD and Autodesk related softwares)
- Mill the design in-house to verify the design has no major flaws and works as expected
- Use a web browser to search for PCB milling board houses near you
- Open the website of your chosen local board house and ensure that they take the file format of your design
- Due to the individuality of designs, you will likely either have to contact the house directly or navigate their website to get a quote (where you will input all of your information and upload your file)
- Wait to hear back with pricing and timing and act accordingly
File Downloads¶
Our files for this week can be downloaded here.