PCB Software

[Mycroft2152]

It all depends on what you need. I make "average" hobbyist pcb's. Most of my pcbs have standard components with pins on a 0.10" center and placed on a 0.05" grid

You misunderstood, the drilling grid is 0.05" but the step resolution needs to be much finer, 0.005" or 2000 steps per inch is reasonable for a home brew pcb driller. Most commercial cnc's use tens of thousands of steps per inch.

Part of the calculation nneded is converting rotary motion to linear motion, i. e., the stepper pulses per inch travel. That depends on the number of steps per 1 rotation of the stepper motor and the turns per inch of the screw.

These calculations are all done on the g-code or HPGL code automatically by the commercial programs.

A homebrew pcb driller is not an easy project. There are many mechanical issues to solve, alignment, backlash, runout etc. But it is a lot of fun!

TANSTAAFL!

Myc

 

[Rickharris]

backlash can be resolved by using 2 nuts seperated by a spring so they are in tensionboth ways.

Resolution is going to be fairly fine with a stepper driving a threaded rod anyway - havn't worked out the mathes exactly but easily adjusted with gearing.

I would think it is fairly basic mechanics. the boxford is accurate to 0.1 mm I assume that is the step size.

It is fairly robust, perhaps more than most. I can provide pictures if required. A semi automatic system is perhaps best. I see that rotary motion seems to be preferred over linear in some of the links I posted.

Boxfod is £9000 lowest cost miller I can find is £1600 you pays your money and ...

it is invaluable - to make matter worse we have 2!.

PS Poor school mind - I had to argue like mad to get them.

Edited by - rickharris on 2/26/2006 7:45:01 PM

 

[slurp]

"I use a similar method, but with Press-n-Peel 'special' paper, so the toner comes off onto the board easier."

"So, at great expense, I changed printer and the media too and that sorted most of the probs. Expensive, yes, but then so are a lot of mucked-up photoresist boards."

What has worked well for me is printing from a Lazer onto the waxed bacling paper from Lazer Labels - the ink is etch resistant.

I've only really tried small(ish) boards as most have been related to minisumo projects. If the board is clean, you press it evenly and allow the board to cool again once you've pressed the results are very good even with fine tracks.

Having eteched and drilled I've used the holes to line up a component side print to assist layout. I've been thinking more about using a hot plate for surface mount components to avoid the drilling... but that's on the To Do List.

regards,
colin

--

www.minisumo.org.uk

 

[notwhoyouthink]

Personally, it's Eagle all the way! I have just leart to use it for my GCSE project- an absurdly complicated project comprising 20 boards, and learning Eagle all the time. Incidentally, I and my colleagues have found many errors in the PICAXE library originally hosted here by L. de Vries, and I am working on a better one! Errors included use of a 400-mil package for the 28 and the reversal of the power pins on the 18. Apart from anything else, there was no 40X and no SMD versions. But these problems can be overcome... it will be ready soon.

 

[hippy]

Having not done any PCB design; how long would it probably take someone to get to grips with Eagle ( or other ) and start producing PCB designs ?

I know that's an open ended question and it depends on capabilities and abilities. But I was thinking if I wanted to create a single-sided PCB with a PICAXE-18, 9-way D connector for download, an edge connector for LCD, associated components and mounting holes, how much effort would I likely be looking at having to invest in doing that ?

 

[MartinM57]

I'd reckon on 3-4 hours from starting the download to getting a simple board design, via the schematic editor, that you're happy with.

I'd highly recommend during the tutorial step-by-step, even if you think you can dive in and just read the manual when you get stuck - you'll get stuck as soon as you start it up!

Then there's the PCB manufacturing time and effort...

 

[Mycroft2152]

3-4 hours with EAGLE! for an experienced user maybe. but only after spending a few weeks or months trying to learn the user interface. The learning curve for EAGLE is very steep. Been there, done that.

Don't misunderstand me, I like EAGLE, but i did spend the time to learn it.

There are other free pcb software programs out there that are much easier to use. I've moved over to DipTrace after spending a few years with EAGLE.

Send up your schematic and I'll convert it to pcb artwork.

TANSTAAFL!

Myc

 

[DrWho]

Anyone uses EASYPC?

 

[slurp]

I played with Eagle for a while but didn't get it at first, mainly to do with routing and connecting components. Mostly I'd miss understood two very different commands.

Having picked up Build Your Own Printed Circuit Board by Al Williams <A href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/007142783X/engineeringres07' Target=_Blank>External Web Link</a> (amazon.co.uk) or <A href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007142783X/engineeingresour' Target=_Blank>External Web Link</a> (amazon.com) everything became clearer.

The book is is a good guide to eagle and the things you'll need to consider when going to a profesional board house as well as loads on building your own.

Best move I made was to EagleCAD and Laser proto-typing. I'd agree with 3-4 hours to pick it up - if you put you head to it!

regards,
colin

--

www.minisumo.org.uk


Edited by - slurp on 2/28/2006 1:17:45 PM

Edited by - slurp on 2/28/2006 1:20:18 PM

Edited by - slurp on 2/28/2006 1:21:11 PM

 

[Dippy]

Doctor Who (which regeneration?)
I had the demo EasyPC latest-but-one version. I was thinking of changing from RangerXL.

It took a bit of learning and with a couple of minor gripes I thought it was very good.
And the technical support was good. This is an area which has gone unmentioned so far. I must add that Ranger support has been excellent too, it cut my learning curve down from 3 months to 3 weeks. 3-4 hours? Blimey, you Eagle users are Genii!

If I were to start again I would probably choose EasyPC as it seems very flexible - which makes it harder to learn obviously.

No doubt there will dozens of responses saying mines-better-than-yours but there you go. And having seen SOME of the other offerings I'd say they look GOOD too. Though I cannot be bothered to do back-to-back comparisons.


Edited by - dippy on 28/02/2006 14:05:14

 

[Michael 2727]

Easytrax or Autotrax is DOS based, the free
versions anyway. Google it for D/L site,
its only about 400kb.

If your video driver in XP runs it, it is
quite easy to get used to.