Homebrew PCBs

Andrew wrote:
>>Adam wrote:
>>
>>I cannot comprehend the justification for
>>a hobbyist owning a dedicated CNC PCB drill
>>who, on average, makes no more than 1 
>>PCB/fortnight.
> 
> 
> The fun of making it yourself is one easy
> to comprehend justification.
> 
> Having to get a board with several hundred
> vias finished in a shorter period of time than
> you could get a professional house to start
> it.
> 
> Having a general interest in CNC anyways (from
> doing your Seig X3 mill all the way down to
> making CNC music box roll cutters and CNC
> balsa wood planners)
> 
> 
>>A 
>>well built hand drill press does the job.
>>And, especially since everything is SMD
>>(or soon will be), the only things left to
>>drill are connectors, power components, and
>>of course vias.
> 
> 
> I've got one of the Sakai drill presses which
> I think is pretty nice.  But I still don't
> like drilling hundreds of holes.
> 
> And as they always say.  Why buy something 
> for $10 when you can make it yourself for
> only $100
> 
> :D
> 

True, true. If building a hobby CNC drill is a 'fun' project then why 
not, if thats what someone enjoys doing. I'm currently building a spray 
etcher, and I know that the improvement in etch quality and time I'm 
going to save isn't that significant compared to some ferric chloride in 
an ice-cream container and waving a paint brush over the copper. I've 
spend well over $100 so far and countless hours, it is the 2nd major 
revision. When complete, I'll be able to professionally etch a 320x230mm 
PCB., and then break open the champaign. If anyones interested I can 
upload some photos.

Adam