FlatCam 2 sided PCB milling on a CNC
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- This is a guide for milling a double sided (2-sided) PCBs with a CNC using FlatCam.
$2/5pcs 2Layer & $5/5pcs 4Layer PCBs: jlcpcb.com
In this tutorial we will cover all you need to know to create a two sided PCB in Flatcam with your CNC.
We are creating alignment holes. Then you can mill both sides of your copper clad board, using these holes to align the PCB.
When creating a multi layer PCB in FlatCam you must first create alignment holes and mirror one of the sides of the PCB. We will core this and the rest of the operations needed in flatcam.
FlatCAM PCB CNC Full Tutorial:
• FlatCAM PCB CNC Full T...
Link to the CNC (Affiliate):
www.banggood.com/custlink/3mD...
00:00 Intro double sided PCB
00:24 FlatCam BETA
00:45 2 Sided PCB in FlatCam
01:43 JLCPCB
02:36 2 Sided PCB in FlatCam
07:05 CNC code for alignment holes (excellon)
09:44 Isolation routing / milling Top Layer
12:35 Isolation routing / milling Bottom Layer
13:30 Drill holes / Excellon
14:07 Board Cut Out
We are using the 3018 CNC (Affiliate links)
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3018 CNC - www.banggood.com/custlink/vK3...
3018 PRO - www.banggood.com/custlink/KD3...
Download FlatCam:
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- Read the Windows_Installers_Beta_8.993.txt file
- bitbucket.org/jpcgt/flatcam/d...
We are covering everything for creating gcode files from your gerber files. - Věda a technologie
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That is so clear. Great tutorial, no silly or annoying music. Just good honest information at an understandable pace. Thanks for your efforts!
Both your single sided and this double sided video are very clear and easy to follow. Mega thanks for your help in getting me started!
Nicely done. Navigating thru the menus takes a little time as a novice. Thanks again
That was a REALLY good tutorial. Quite simple, and no extra "speaking": )
Awesome finally someone who explains it clearly
Incredible amazing video, just what I was looking for, excellent tricks and tips. Thanks.
This was the video that iam looking for thanks dude👍❤❤
As usual, this is another great video mate, kudos !!
Thank you again Pingnagan 🙂
Thank so Much! I have a 3018 Prover Mach3 so your video is perfect! I wish I could find an Autoleveller instruction for Mach3 as well made! Thanks again! You have made a wonderful procedure for a pretty complicated process!
Thank you! Amazing video. Love the 4 pins to locate the PCB, so simple but I was scratching my head trying to think how to get repeatable board location. TY!
You helped me a lot, thanks for the video
Thank you for the nice comment :-)
Thanks, clear tutoring!
just awesome , thanks , wonderful explanation
Glad you liked it!
Excellent!
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for viewing :-)
Mil gracias.
Thank you!
Cool, thanks :)
Super video!
Are you planning to make a demonstration video about GRBL / Candle? In vain did I make a map, unfortunately I did not feel that this would follow the surveyed irregularities.
Thanks!
Hi Great video how about one to clean up solder mask? With the cnc of course that is a challenge!
Are you using Tungsten Carbide 2 Flutes Ball Nose End Mills to drill the holes in the PCB?
Hi. Thank you for the tutorial. Very useful. This is unfortunate that you did not show the end result. You might elect to add it to your present video and republish . Thank you again. Regards, RJM
Thank you! That’s a good point. Tried to include it at the beginning of the video, but should also be at the end!
Great video. However I have two questions.
1. I would like to have the alignment pins located within the finished circuit board. This would allow me double purpose the holes for mounting screws. Assuming this can be done, and will test later. Are there any potential problems I should be concerned about in doing this??
2. I would like to partially mill the tabs that hold the circuit board to the larger board material. How can this be done.
3. Bonus question ;) What are your thoughts on the term Milled Circuit Board (MCB)? My pedantry haunts me.
I for sure know what you mean! Calling a copper clad board a PCB, and naming it printed when it is milled...
Regarding the alignment holes, that is a great idea! The thing to consider is that you will join the copper both sides if you use metal screws. So I would connect the copper to ground for both sides. Either that, or isolate the holes as well.
And, for the tabs, you can create two CNC jobs, one cutting half the way through, and other one (with tabs) the rest of the way!
A problem you might run into, which can be difficult to control, is that if you have the pins in the middle of the board, it easy to crash into to them. Of course, less risk if you set Z height for moves high enough.
Can we do 6 mil (0.15mm) trace width with this CNC machine ?
Do you have any advice on how to hold down the board, do I need double-sided tape and does it need to be stiff? I set up just two alignment pins for my layout 85mm apart for a 10x7 cm board stock, but they were very tight, and I used two of the regular clamps provided with the 3018 kit just outside of the pins. Now I do the isolation run using the tips they sent with the kit and I'm not getting cutting (it's hardly even scratching the surface), it's apparently just pushing the board down (I guess it's convex), or else the tip I'm using is soft or not pointed enough. Some people are saying "do autolevelling" but I don't seem to be cutting at all, that wouldn't even address the problem! I did try those "nano blue" tips and they WERE cutting but the routes they were cutting were so wide the traces were completely "washed out" (the isolation routes from either side were touching each other) and when I looked closely at the tips they had TWO points with a gap between and weren't anywhere NEAR 0.1mm as advertised. So the problems I'm having are basically with the mechanical setup NOT the software, part of it is tip selection and part is holddown, the milling and drilling stuff seems to work just as advertised. Am I getting in trouble with "too tight" a fit on the pins so it could be bending the board a little? Could you do a CZcams addressing these challenges, or do you know of one or a webpage? I really need to isolate these issues from one another and start making progress...
Having cut holes for the connections between the layers, how would you recommend actually constructing the vias?
Hi!
1. you buy pcb rivets
2. use the legs of a resistor and solder it to both sides
Best of luck!
Hi there,
I have the problem that the holes in the Excellon file do not match the pads. The holes are very far away. Why is that? I use EAGLE to create the boards and the G-codes.
Hi, Thank you for your great video. I am almost ready to mill my first 2sided pcb now. I have a question though. I can generate a height map, but, how do I apply it to the gcode created by Flatcam?
Howdy! A height map is made an applied in you CNC software :-)
@@DIYTECHBROS Hi there! Thank you for your reply. I was able to close the loop now. Kicad->FlatCam->Candle, It took me a while to get the whole tool chain ready, and without people like you would had been almost impossible. THANK YOU!!!
Hi, very nice video. I have a question. The home position of my CNC is the upper right corner and my PCB as the zero origine in the bottom left corner. I'm new at this. Do you have a video where we can see how to position the start position for the top layer and then the bottom layer ? I'm not talking about the alignment holes that's ok but I need to make sure the cnc knows where to start after I flip the board.
You probably figured it out already. You should have the same start position when on both sides. Whatever you use on the front side, use the same on the flip side, and I think you'll be ok.
I have Flatcam version 8.994 BETA and the menu is different from yours. Such as setting the *Milling Geometry* at about 8:30 in the video. It isn't there.
I have found several things in completely different areas of the software so far. Not so easy to follow along as I hoped.
I may need to find it and install that version 😕
How did you select the gerber file in group icant
Do you think that a LowRider v3 can make PCBs just as good as in your video?
Hi!
If it uses a threaded rod and not timing belts it has good potential!
How do you contact the vias though? I've been looking for methods for a while now
Great video.
But i couldn't follow? Which version of flatcam do you use? 8.5 have no such options? Can you privide link to letest realese?
See their Bitbucket
bitbucket.org/jpcgt/flatcam/downloads/FlatCAM_beta_8.994_installers.txt
Never explained how to mill the position holes. CAn it all be done in Flatcam or do I need to create a GBR file with the holes first in CAD?
Generate a CNC job from the Excellon object, save the CNC file and then run it on the mill.
I get this error when loading *.drl [error] No geometry found in file, how can I fix it ?thanks
Should all holes be drill first? In worst case top layer will be good
I really prefer drilling the through holes after the bottom side is drilled! Usually, it does not help much if one layer is good, since I need both for the PCB to work :-)
But with curved drill holes PCB is for trash
what the minimum track thickness can you get with cnc method?
It depends on your CNC. I use 24 mil tracks, but I'm pretty sure I could go almost half of that, or at least 16 mil. I use a 1000x1000mm Ooznest WorkBee. Surface probing is a must and you must also minimize backlash. I've got less than 0.01mm (0.4mil) backlash in Y and about 0.06mm (2.4 mil) backlash in X. A high quality expensive machine can of course do a lot better.
Where do you get the double sided copper board please I can only find singles not doubles
Just search for “double sided copper clad board” on Banggood, eBay or AliExpress!
4:47 make ref hole
Great video! One thing is missing... You've never showed the steps to creat the HeatMap.
Thanks! A heightmap is created in your CNC software and not FlatCam. See our video on how to mill a PCB for more info :-)
Are you working on linux or windows
The interface in the latest is totally different so its so difficult to follow
😫😫
Why did you not show how to do the height mapping? It's a critical part of this and you just glossed over it.
Hi! Yes, it’s very important, but not a part of Flatcam, and will be different depending your CNC software and CNC machine. So while we agree that it’s very important the video would be too long and broad if we were to cover to many alternatives.