Homebrew PCBs

Hi Folks,

I just came across this group and thought it would be the perfect 
place to pose this question.

I need to make a *lot* of very small circuit boards, like .25" 
square. I got a quote on these boards from a board house and the 
price was like $.20 each if I bought many thousands of them at once.

If I use their special proto board deal I can make a panelized board 
for tons less money, but the thing is these boards have a few SMT 
components on them so I need to score the boards prior to populating 
them. Having the board house score the boards adds a bunch of money.

Since I have a CNC milling machine I thought I'd try to score the 
boards myself with a v-shaped carbide bit. Has anyone here tried 
this? Any luck? If not, could anyone point me to a resource that 
discusses doing this?

I think it can be done, I would just like to gather what learnings I 
can before I destroy an expensive board.

Thanks,

Jeff

Yes, I have done this. I received a board where the cutting operation 
was missed. They want the board layout separated by 10mils for cutting.

I used a centre drill to V score the boards, as that's what I had on 
hand. I scored the board on both sides, and it snapped apart very easily.

The most difficult part was setting it all up on the mill.

Cheers,

Peter.

Jeff Swayze wrote:
> Hi Folks,
> 
> I just came across this group and thought it would be the perfect 
> place to pose this question.
> 
> I need to make a *lot* of very small circuit boards, like .25" 
> square. I got a quote on these boards from a board house and the 
> price was like $.20 each if I bought many thousands of them at once.
> 
> If I use their special proto board deal I can make a panelized board 
> for tons less money, but the thing is these boards have a few SMT 
> components on them so I need to score the boards prior to populating 
> them. Having the board house score the boards adds a bunch of money.
> 
> Since I have a CNC milling machine I thought I'd try to score the 
> boards myself with a v-shaped carbide bit. Has anyone here tried 
> this? Any luck? If not, could anyone point me to a resource that 
> discusses doing this?
> 
> I think it can be done, I would just like to gather what learnings I 
> can before I destroy an expensive board.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
> 
> If Files or Photos are running short of space, post them here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs_Archives/ 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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