A Machine PERFECT for Making PCBs at Home Is what they said!
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Date: 2023-01-22
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Comments and reviews: 15
zola
Definitely the features are paid for, they are certainly very useful and I would say that if it arrived better packaged it would be a good thing.
Like any complex machine, there are always adjustments to be made during installation.
Surely it is a nice top of the range, I dare say for semi-professional use, the hobbyist will hardly be willing to spend that amount to use it three times a year in all cases the range of accessories seems well developed even if the 299 for the PCB kit it seems to me a further increase in costs.
In the images I saw that the virgin copper plates due to their elasticity risk rising, to solve the problem you could try with double adhesive tape between the pcb and the work surface.
One thing to rationalize to reduce the movement of the spindle could be the zeroing of the height which could be done near the tool holder and not at the other end of the work plane, possibly if the zeroing did not concern only the Z axis it could be it is useful to place the tool holder to the left of the work surface.
I see you soon!
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Definitely the features are paid for, they are certainly very useful and I would say that if it arrived better packaged it would be a good thing.
Like any complex machine, there are always adjustments to be made during installation.
Surely it is a nice top of the range, I dare say for semi-professional use, the hobbyist will hardly be willing to spend that amount to use it three times a year in all cases the range of accessories seems well developed even if the 299 for the PCB kit it seems to me a further increase in costs.
In the images I saw that the virgin copper plates due to their elasticity risk rising, to solve the problem you could try with double adhesive tape between the pcb and the work surface.
One thing to rationalize to reduce the movement of the spindle could be the zeroing of the height which could be done near the tool holder and not at the other end of the work plane, possibly if the zeroing did not concern only the Z axis it could be it is useful to place the tool holder to the left of the work surface.
I see you soon!
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Mladen
So here's the summary: Thing costs 4999, came beat up and with tools the rest will have to shell half a grand extra to get. Its most praised feature didn't work but the issue was solved by the PR guy who prepared tutorial for him, person none of the buyers will have access to.
However, having a laser present means you can make good PCB with this machine. There are self-adhesive foils for laser etching. Or you can simply paint copper with mat paint and use laser to cut traces. Then just use bog standard etching solution for PCB and done!
I am however very pleased with objective reporting on this machine. I totally expected endorsement even though it's lacking in many places. Eventually it will probably get good enough and cheap enough for home use but they need to keep working on it.
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So here's the summary: Thing costs 4999, came beat up and with tools the rest will have to shell half a grand extra to get. Its most praised feature didn't work but the issue was solved by the PR guy who prepared tutorial for him, person none of the buyers will have access to.
However, having a laser present means you can make good PCB with this machine. There are self-adhesive foils for laser etching. Or you can simply paint copper with mat paint and use laser to cut traces. Then just use bog standard etching solution for PCB and done!
I am however very pleased with objective reporting on this machine. I totally expected endorsement even though it's lacking in many places. Eventually it will probably get good enough and cheap enough for home use but they need to keep working on it.
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David
I worked as a biomedical engineer back in the 80's and I'd setup a system that did something similar. And boy, it was a booger to use. The mill was ok in the x & y axis, but z depth was controlled by a solenoid and thumb screw. The PCB had to be perfectly flat, or else. And, as far as I knew, router bits that small weren't available. A conductive ink was applied to the thru holes, then copper was plated to the boards in a plating machine. (Keeping the chemistry right was also a pain) Then photo resist was hot rolled on from a carrier film, followed by normal photo resist procedures.
Took me many weeks to get the procedures down, and in the end, we never really used the system.
Better than running a test scoring scanner when I first started working, though.
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I worked as a biomedical engineer back in the 80's and I'd setup a system that did something similar. And boy, it was a booger to use. The mill was ok in the x & y axis, but z depth was controlled by a solenoid and thumb screw. The PCB had to be perfectly flat, or else. And, as far as I knew, router bits that small weren't available. A conductive ink was applied to the thru holes, then copper was plated to the boards in a plating machine. (Keeping the chemistry right was also a pain) Then photo resist was hot rolled on from a carrier film, followed by normal photo resist procedures.
Took me many weeks to get the procedures down, and in the end, we never really used the system.
Better than running a test scoring scanner when I first started working, though.
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brettski74
I'm not convinced about the PCB milling. There are too many stages that are useful to include that I just can't see a hobbyist CNC doing will without a lot of messing around. You need copper, drilling, mask and silk screen done well and they all need to line up. When you have companies like JLCPCB and PCBWay doing what they do for as cheap as they do, I can't justify the effort. Stencils really only have one tool path, so no alignment issues and the number of times I've forgotten to include a stencil on my PCB orders, the ability to whip up a half-decent stencil at home would be useful. Still not sure that's a big enough use case to justify a 4000 machine, but that seems like a better target for a hobbyist solution at this point.
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I'm not convinced about the PCB milling. There are too many stages that are useful to include that I just can't see a hobbyist CNC doing will without a lot of messing around. You need copper, drilling, mask and silk screen done well and they all need to line up. When you have companies like JLCPCB and PCBWay doing what they do for as cheap as they do, I can't justify the effort. Stencils really only have one tool path, so no alignment issues and the number of times I've forgotten to include a stencil on my PCB orders, the ability to whip up a half-decent stencil at home would be useful. Still not sure that's a big enough use case to justify a 4000 machine, but that seems like a better target for a hobbyist solution at this point.
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DJ
I have a Workbee CNC and it was bought mainly for PCB prototypes. Just like you have said the software side is still very much work things out for your self and far from perfect. I can use it with decent results including double side and have made a few prototypes before sending away for pro boards to be made. This machine looks good and the tool change will save a lot of time.
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I have a Workbee CNC and it was bought mainly for PCB prototypes. Just like you have said the software side is still very much work things out for your self and far from perfect. I can use it with decent results including double side and have made a few prototypes before sending away for pro boards to be made. This machine looks good and the tool change will save a lot of time.
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Blaze
I believe since there is already a lot of pcb manufacturing infrastructure, such machines might not catch on so quick. 3d printers are ok, but this kind of machine is way too expensive for the normal consumer. like we know, pcbs are really cheap to get made. How often would you use this machine? Enough in your life time to make the money back vs using a printing company?
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I believe since there is already a lot of pcb manufacturing infrastructure, such machines might not catch on so quick. 3d printers are ok, but this kind of machine is way too expensive for the normal consumer. like we know, pcbs are really cheap to get made. How often would you use this machine? Enough in your life time to make the money back vs using a printing company?
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Peter
Hi Scott. Imagine when you look at your own video and you had paid 4, 600 for what you show, particularly on PCB production. Would you really end up with the same verdict? When you get something for free at that price point then please don't call cost subjective. There are numerous alternatives that do a much better job in producing your own PCB's at a much lower price.
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Hi Scott. Imagine when you look at your own video and you had paid 4, 600 for what you show, particularly on PCB production. Would you really end up with the same verdict? When you get something for free at that price point then please don't call cost subjective. There are numerous alternatives that do a much better job in producing your own PCB's at a much lower price.
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Jerry
Honestly the software missing is more a pro than a con for me, because it means you can use absolutely any program.
Having a propietary software could be the start of limiting the machine to operate exclusively with their software so you end up forcefully relying on them rather than just searching for other program to run, like already happens with some 3D printers
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Honestly the software missing is more a pro than a con for me, because it means you can use absolutely any program.
Having a propietary software could be the start of limiting the machine to operate exclusively with their software so you end up forcefully relying on them rather than just searching for other program to run, like already happens with some 3D printers
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GSII
Regarding your sponsor: My problem with JLCPCB (although I still prefer them) is, that the calculated price in the configurator is not the end price. JLCPCB has a weird policy with adding additional (somewhat hidden) supplement costs, which sometimes unreasonable double the price compared to PCBWAY or is even more expensive than german/european PCB-fabricators.
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Regarding your sponsor: My problem with JLCPCB (although I still prefer them) is, that the calculated price in the configurator is not the end price. JLCPCB has a weird policy with adding additional (somewhat hidden) supplement costs, which sometimes unreasonable double the price compared to PCBWAY or is even more expensive than german/european PCB-fabricators.
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Steve
That's a nice unit. A good review also. I use a cheap CNC for PCBs if I want one and also only single sided. I've learnt lots of techniques to make the cutting work well. I use Diptrace to design my boards. From there I use bitmaps for the track exports into Vectric 2D and then out to Mach3 for the cutting. I have made dozens of boards this way. Works a treat.
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That's a nice unit. A good review also. I use a cheap CNC for PCBs if I want one and also only single sided. I've learnt lots of techniques to make the cutting work well. I use Diptrace to design my boards. From there I use bitmaps for the track exports into Vectric 2D and then out to Mach3 for the cutting. I have made dozens of boards this way. Works a treat.
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education
Thanks to you, I have made a functional plasma ball based off a 555 timer and mosfet! It really works well and I have it powered up at the moment and it's barely even hot and I hope it doesn't blow up sometime soon.
Thank you for all of your electronics basics and project videos!
-Jon.
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Thanks to you, I have made a functional plasma ball based off a 555 timer and mosfet! It really works well and I have it powered up at the moment and it's barely even hot and I hope it doesn't blow up sometime soon.
Thank you for all of your electronics basics and project videos!
-Jon.
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C t lin
Hello Great Scott, I have a real World issue. Have some boards designed in Eagle with smd and through hole components. I used the ULP script from JLCPcb but it outputs the BOM and CPL files only for smd comments not for the THT comp. I did talked with them but no success. Could you help please?
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Hello Great Scott, I have a real World issue. Have some boards designed in Eagle with smd and through hole components. I used the ULP script from JLCPcb but it outputs the BOM and CPL files only for smd comments not for the THT comp. I did talked with them but no success. Could you help please?
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Platin
Hmm hard to say for what it can actually be used.
The weight looks a bit puny maybe usable for wood and alu (there not to big cuts)
All in all it looks like a dremel attached to a 3 Axis Rig.
What s the biggest end mill can you use 3mm and what feeds are possible and tool engagement?
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Hmm hard to say for what it can actually be used.
The weight looks a bit puny maybe usable for wood and alu (there not to big cuts)
All in all it looks like a dremel attached to a 3 Axis Rig.
What s the biggest end mill can you use 3mm and what feeds are possible and tool engagement?
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Nadine
Your videos are great as always and in fact I have to thank you for your videos. They really helped me in my school project that is about 20%from my total grade and without your videos I don't think I would be able to make it. It was a small robot that measures the effects of climate change
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Your videos are great as always and in fact I have to thank you for your videos. They really helped me in my school project that is about 20%from my total grade and without your videos I don't think I would be able to make it. It was a small robot that measures the effects of climate change
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Reid
Not to be too salty, but wanted to mention that I supported the kickstarter and have seen the fulfillment of kickstarter orders pushed back at least 3 times. Original delivery date was, iirc, August 2022 (currently end of Jan 23 and they still have something like 400 machines left to ship)
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Not to be too salty, but wanted to mention that I supported the kickstarter and have seen the fulfillment of kickstarter orders pushed back at least 3 times. Original delivery date was, iirc, August 2022 (currently end of Jan 23 and they still have something like 400 machines left to ship)
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