CNC PCB engraver

grabcad

Traditionally, there are two ways of hobbyists making custom PCBs: 1. Using toner transfer and chemical etchant -- can be tricky to get the right materials, and the chemicals are nasty and messy 2. Paying a service like BatchPCB or OshPark -- fairly inexpensive, but usually have to wait a long time, like two or three weeks. Milling them on a CNC is a quick way with a different set of pros and cons: The good: * Quick turnaround - don't have to wait days or weeks for it to ship * The mill does the drilling * No messy acid to deal with * Once you have good settings, the process is easily repeatable * Two sided boards are possibly slightly easier than with etched boards * Inexpensive - you're just paying for blank circuit boards which are a couple bucks each The not so good: * Bits and end mills can be expensive and they wear out. * Bits of copper clad fiberglass get all over the place * Milling a board can take a while * Board stock and mill bed flatness will present a challenge * Isolation size is a function of bit size and mill accuracy.