{"id":62,"date":"2020-08-10T10:54:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T00:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/?page_id=62"},"modified":"2020-08-17T19:53:33","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T09:53:33","slug":"my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/","title":{"rendered":"My First PCB Using Isolation Routing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I just finished completing a simple single sided 555 timer PCB using the isolation routing technique. The results are quite acceptable, considering this was done on a $180 AUD dollar 3018 CNC machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The tools used in this process where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. 3018 CNC milling machine kit from Ebay with the Woodpecker controller board running GRBL 1.1<\/li>
  2. KiCad 5.1.5-3 for the PCB design<\/li>
  3. Flat Cam 8.993 Beta for the creating the isolation GCode.<\/li>
  4. Candle 1.1.7 to control the CNC machine.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    There where a lot of lessons learned in producing a working board, I estimate I dulled 4 v-bits, broke 4 drill bits and attempted 10 routes before it all came together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Out of this process I came up with these ‘safe’ settings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3018 CNC milling machine<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    This machine is cheap but effective, as long as you don’t push it too far. It is also critical that you hook up the Z probe connections BUT be warned I destroyed the probe input pin of the controller when I accidentally discharged static electricity onto the pin. Fortunately I could recompile GRBL to use pin A4 instead of A5, but after that I wired the Z probe ground connection to my PC case and ALWAYS <\/strong>connect the ground probe wire first to make sure any static is discharged before touching the input pin wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Use fine sandpaper after milling before you discount the board as being rubbish. The quality can be deceptive until it is properly clean up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kicad<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Settings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1 mm tracks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rectangular Pads – size x 2.5, size y 1.8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Try an leave as much space as possible between the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Flatcam<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Settings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tool Diameter – 0.2 mm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Z_Cut: – 0.1 mm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Spindle RPM – max.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Feed rates – slow as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Two passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Important <\/strong>– flip the design on the Y- Axis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Candle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    It is important to use (at this time) the latest beta version of Candle because it supports Z Zero height probing. It is also important to note that versions have a compatibility restriction with GRBL. Check the version of GRBL on the CNC controller and update if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is essential<\/strong> to use automatic Z zero height probing and a height map. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Go SLOW<\/strong>, this is really important, especially with the drill bits. The bits are so brittle that they will break even if they accidentally drop out of the collet just 2 inches onto the pcb. I place something soft beneath the bits when changing them so that they will not break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Soldering<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Soldering onto an unmasked pcb requires a bit more care than normal. I used a fine needle tip on my soldering iron to get the precision necessary. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I just finished completing a simple single sided 555 timer PCB using the isolation routing technique. The results are quite acceptable, considering this was done on a $180 AUD dollar 3018 CNC machine. The tools used in this process where: 3018 CNC milling machine kit from Ebay with the Woodpecker controller board running GRBL 1.1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy First PCB Using Isolation Routing - GerardWKnight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My First PCB Using Isolation Routing - GerardWKnight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I just finished completing a simple single sided 555 timer PCB using the isolation routing technique. The results are quite acceptable, considering this was done on a $180 AUD dollar 3018 CNC machine. The tools used in this process where: 3018 CNC milling machine kit from Ebay with the Woodpecker controller board running GRBL 1.1 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GerardWKnight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-17T09:53:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_1883.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/\",\"name\":\"GerardWKnight\",\"description\":\"Web site of Melbourne based developer Gerard Knight\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/IMG_1883.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/\",\"name\":\"My First PCB Using Isolation Routing - GerardWKnight\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-10T00:54:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-17T09:53:33+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/my-first-pcb-using-isolation-routing\/\"]}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77,"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62\/revisions\/77"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gerardwknight.duckdns.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}