Advanced CNC Milling Techniques

Source:shengfe Date:2018-06-07 10:44

Advanced CNC Milling Techniques
 
Isolation Milling
 
Most hobbyists who make their own printed circuit boards (PCBs) create them using etching techniques. The simplest way to do this is to take a copper-plated board, mask the areas you don’t want to etch, and place the board in an etching solution of ferric chloride or sodium persulfate. The chemical then etches away the unwanted parts of the copper plating. Both of these chemicals represent a health and environmental risk, and usually have to be disposed of professionally by a toxic waste specialist.
 
CNC Milling image
If you don’t require the high-precision results that the etching process offers, you can use your CNC router to cut and drill PCBs. This approach also enables you to produce two-sided PCBs. A great place to start is using the Eagle software pack- age
 If you need to create larger PCBs (the free version only works for designs up to 80 × 100 mm), you can upgrade to the fully featured subscription-based Standard or Premium versions, or simply switch to a different application. With a couple of simple tweaks, Eagle can be used to produce output that you can mill directly using WinPC-NC.