Homebrew PCBs

>I am trying to make my own PCB boards and have identified at least (!)
>two areas where I need help.
> 
>#1 - When I held the drill in my hand to drill the holes, they weren't
>in very good alignment (probably an understatement.)
> 
>#2 - When I try a two sided board, I will have to connect the circuits
>on the two sides with what I think are called vias.
> 
>I'm willing to spend some money (under $200) would be nice on equipment
>to help me in these areas.  I particularly like the idea of cnc, if I'm
>correct that it would automatically position the drill, but I am not
>very skilled at designing and assembling hardware.  But I might be able
>to do something simple.  I'm a pretty good programmer, so I might be
>able to compensate on the software side for these shortcomings.
> 
>any suggestions?
> 
>thanks
> 
>bob

Bob

Drilling is not likely to be the biggest problem when it comes to
double sided PCB's. If you want to go for cheap, check out proxxon
articles ( www.proxxon.com ). They have a fairly low priced drill
stand and drill motors with ball bearings that are very good for the
job. I do have their drill stand as well as one of their motors and
I'm very happy with it.

Going CNC for $200 without mechanical skills will be though. Maybe
John Kleinbauer's Plans ( www.kleinbauer.com ) can help compensating
your lack of skills in the hardware area provided you live in the US
or Canada.

At a low budget, connecting the two layers is usually made by sticking
wires through the holes and solder them on both sides. That's
virtually free :) This restricts the layout a bit in that you can't
place vias below chips but still some quite intersting work can be
done like this.

Another solution to connect the layers instead of the wires is to use
ready made inserts that can be pressed into the holes. Usually still
some soldering is required depending on the product. There were some
threads about this technology on this list not too long ago.

The perfect solution is electro chemical trhough hole plating. It's
possible to do that at home, but the initial costs are definately
higher than $200.

I recommend you to browse in the archives of this list - you will find
many hints.

Markus