8. Electronic Production

group assignment: • characterize the design rules for your in-house PCB production process

At fablabwinam we use. Roland Monofab SRM-20. Spindle speed goes up to 9300

  • submit a PCB design to a board house

individual assignment: • make and test an embedded microcontroller system that you designed • extra credit: make it with another process

Refining my design in week 6 I updated my MCU to Module_XIAO_Generic_SocketSMD in schematic design then updated y pcb editor and did routing again. Also I updated GND traces to 0.8mm, i first changed the net class to power and not default then edit under track via properties. 3D simulation for new design

Ploting and Export SVG

under files, plot ensured i selected svg and not gerber, then selected F.Cu and Edge.Cut.and i secified my output directory to keep files organized.

Prepare to cut using CAM Modsproject

I used inksape to resize edgecuts and traces, since svg was exporting using the sheet size. From here i export as svg to mods

In modes you have to invert to so that it removes unneccessary layers

For edge cutting, use 1/32 endmill under cut and for traces i use 1/64

Cut Depth,tool diameter,maximum cut depth.. For traces i used this

For edgecut i used this

Simulation

After this i click calculate or go to home, then it downloads a rml file.

Vpanel and Cutting I used vpanle to control the machine. I used the xyz cordinates to set my origin. After installing bit, i set Z on the surface of the board, and x,y on the xy cordintates from where i want my cutting to begin from.

Surfacing To ensure a flat surface, I fixed an MDF board using double-sided tape. I used a 3.175 mm flat endmill single flute , then i modelled the spoil board in fusion with x 200mm and y 150mm

with a high stepover and created a surfacing toolpath in Fusion (1 mm depth) matching the board size. The machine milled the surface evenly until flat, after which I mounted the PCB with double-sided tape, ready for cutting.

I used the following settings

Select this tool

Using double sided tape,

Cutting

Got this error while printing my first file and realized it was a unit mismatch from mods.

Tried numerous cuts, with failres, edge cuts crossing traceses etc.

Started cutting with traces, then i zero only z and continue with edge cut.

Soldering

Since my design has alternating pins, now i had to bend my pins to do surface mount soldring,

Testing continuity, Before and during soldering i was continoulsy testing contiuity using multimeter to see if there is unwanted connection. I used solder paste to ensure heating first and started with the pins,

I secured the board using hot glue, to ensure the header pins are strong enough

This is my complete soldered board, and ready to program it

Leaning Outcomes

At first while cutting always ensure the units are in mm in mods When working on an SRM Roland job in Mods, it is recommended to set the home position before saving the file. In the “Edit → Set Home” section, set X = 0 and Y = 0. Then, in the “Edit → Move to Origin (collapse)” settings, also ensure X = 0 and Y = 0, while leaving the Z value unchanged.

This ensures that the machine starts from a consistent origin point, helping maintain proper alignment and preventing unexpected offsets during milling.

Surfacing file used surface file_f3d format Edge_Cut gbr_FileFu_cut_File Edgcut rml fileTraces rml file