PC board milling?

Terry Fox tfox at knology.net
Wed Dec 30 22:53:02 CST 2015


Hey guys,
I am considering building or maybe buying an inexpensive CNC milling machine 
that can make circuit boards, as a 2016 project.  I often design stuff, and 
then hand build a prototype using point-to-point soldering.  It's getting 
old, and doing grounds is not simple - even though I have a few techniques 
for that.

I've seen the prices of PC milling machines coming down, but I thought that 
I would try my hand at building one instead.  With my exposure to 3D 
printers, and reading up on a few homebrew CNC machines and plans, I believe 
that I can build one that can do through-hole and simple SMT devices, down 
to about 10 mil or so traces/isolation runs.  For smaller parts, I would put 
the parts on small commercial chip carriers, and add those to the layout.  I 
don't need a huge 4x8ft mill, a smaller desktop unit would be fine.

Has anyone built a CNC milling machine that can SUCCESSFULLY do PC boards? 
If so, what and how much?  Can it do double-sided (lining up both sides)?  I 
plan to add many through-holes for vias between layers.

73, & Happy New Year!!
Terry, N4TLF





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