How to Make a PCB with Sharp Metal Rod Attachment

Here is a simple new method on how to make a PCB with your 3d printer. It doesn't use a CNC milling attachment but a simple sharp metal rod attached instead of an extruder which scrapes away permanent marker layer form a standard copper PCB blank.
PCB is then finished in ferric chloride bath.

Video of the process:



Very detailed step-by-step tutorial and .stl for the K8200 rod attachment (you will have to redesign it for other printers):

http://www.lamja.com/?p=635

Metal rod attachment scraping away marker paint layer on a PCB

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LitePlacer DIY pick and place machine with camera guidance

Juha Kuusama developed a DIY pick-and-place machine inspired by Shapeoko CNC router. It is fully functional with computer vision / camera effector guidance, BOM import and precise enough to place 0402 parts with the vacuum head.

It is still not rough enough to take full production quantities but is more suited for small series of PCBs at 200-400 components per hour. The accuracy is limited and it can not yet do 0201s.

Very impressive video introduction and demonstration:



Here is the project homepage where you can get all the plans and custom software or buy a kit for 1199 euro:

http://www.liteplacer.com/

if you want to build it yourself, guide is at:

http://www.liteplacer.com/the-machine/assembly-instructions/

LitePlacer hardware is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

If you are interested in PCB manufacturing also check: FirePick 300USD DIY Delta pick-and-place or how to hack your 3d printer into solder paste dispenser.

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TwinTeeth home manufacturing PCB factory mulitool with 3d printer

There are more and more home manufacturing tools and TwinTeeth is one of the more developed I saw.
It is a multitool reversed Delta machine mainly orientated towards PCB manufacturing but it can serve as 3d printer also. It is fully open sourced with plans so you can easily build it yourself or customize it to your needs. True ability for distributed manufacturing.

It has following functions and exchangeable tool options:

• UV Laser photoengraving on sensitive film or pre-sensitized boards using an ultraviolet laser.
• Drilling vias and holes using any mini-rotary tool like Dremel® or Proxxon®.
• Dispensing solder paste with precision on SMD PCB pads.
• Plotting circuits with a permanent pen-maker
• 3D printing knobs, casings, front-panels, even print circuits with conductive filament, or make circuits supports.
• Milling/Carving soft materials or etching PCB copper with a v-bit (if you prefer this etching method).

TwinTeet core inverse Delta and replaceable toolheads in front of it

Here is a video of it in action:



TwinTeeth technical specifications from the project page:

• Working area (X,Y,Z): 70x80x60mm reduced considerably to an “Arduino™ shield-size” because it's preferred to do something small but precise. Users rarely create big circuit boards and reducing the working area has some benefits: the robot is cheaper, more precise, more robust, smaller and more manageable. However, it’s scalable, so you can make it bigger if you want.
• Motion: TwinTeeth is powered by three Nema 17 motors, lead-screws and anti-backlash nuts.
• Speed: it can go as fast as 1200-1500mm/min.
• Code: it supports G-Code, postscript and BMP files. Eagle CadSoft can export to postscript format very easily. Support BMP files means than in addition to PCBs it can also print and etch photos on copper, alu or bronze.
• Laser: using the same PHR-803T optical pickup than DiyouPCB with a wavelength of 405nm.
• Rastering: the robot draws the PCB circuits in rastering mode in a similar way any paper printer does: moving the laser (or the bed in our case) from one side of the printer to the other.
• Resolution: In rastering mode it's printing at 600DPI resolution. The laser beam spot is approx. 0.04 wide when is focused. Incredibly thin! Theorically mechanical precision is 0.94um.
• Auto bed-levelling – it keeps the bed flat with a tolerance of less than 0.01mm while the robot is moving. It’s very important to improve printing quality and provide precision.
• Auto-Focus: - small focus differences on the PCB surface affect printing quality so implemented a robust focusing system which takes some points on the PCB and extrapolates the results with a bilinear equation. With that info the robot adjusts the focus automatically while printing.
• Infrared focusing: the auto-focus system uses an infrared laser to avoid film blurring. Films or presensitized boards are only sensible to ultraviolet light.
• Electronics – using the well known combination of Arduino™ Mega + RAMPS 1.4 + A4988 Motor Drivers. Improved the Pickup Driver Circuit developed for DiyouPCB and now it includes new features.
• Precision fixture bed – it is very important to keep the PCB fixed to the bed while the robot is moving. Also, when printing two-sided PCBs you have to be sure that both sides are correctly aligned. TwinTeeth includes a precision aluminium fixture bed and dowel pins which allow correct fixing and positioning of the PCBs. A stencil is also included which helps to drill the PCB’s 4-positions holes.
• Camera – included a small USB camera because it is difficult to see tiny details on high-density PCBs. The camera is also useful to set the home position which is very important to obtain accuracy.
• 3D Printing:  FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) with 1.75mm PLA/ABS and a 0.35mm extrusion nozzle. Printing quality is similar to any 3D printer you can find in the market.

TwinTeeth software:

• TwinTeeth Firmware: deeply modified Marlin firmware to support multiple tools, manage and control the laser, implement the auto-focus system, print in rastering mode, improve the buffering, and much more.
• TwinTeeth Management Console – TwinTeeth comes with a new easy-to-use management console which includes functionality specially designed for the multi-tool environment. Included functions to calibrate the printer, move the axis (jogging), and adjust the parameters of each tool. This software communicates with the robot through an USB 2.0 port.
• TwinTeeth Eagle ULPs – developed some ULPs (Eagles’s user language programs) to generate the drilling and paste dispensing g-code files. You can also use the files generated by other ULPs like PCBCode.
• Eagle Cadsoft – It is a popular electronic CAD software company. They provide a freeware version for non-commercial use. It easily generates the postscript, drilling and solder paste dispensing files which TwinTeeth uses to make the circuits.
• 3D Slicing software– for 3D printing you can use any slicer software like Slic3R or Cura.

TwinTeeth homepage:

http://www.diyouware.com/front

Since it is an open source project you can get all the files to make it here and start your own home PCB factory:

http://www.diyouware.com/twth_getit

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FirePick Delta open source DIY pick and place machine that can be made for 300$

Home electronics manufacturing is one step closer with FirePick project which gives you fully functional pick-and-place machine that can also serve as a 3d printer. The entire design is open sourced and can be made for some 300 USD in "hacker" version.

...video of the machine in action is under the text ...


Project description form the project webpage:

FirePick Delta is an open-source electronics manufacturing system, inspired by RepRap and powered by OpenPnP and FirePick's own Computer Vision software. We are taking the beginning steps towards a smart appliance that can manufacture electronic circuit boards in a home or office environment. Our machine is able to assemble open-source hardware boards like Arduino and Raspberry Pi accessories, and also has the capability to 3D print. It features an auto-tool changer that allows multiple plastic extruders, and/or multiple SMT vacuum nozzles. Other tools and applications will be available as our product matures.

FirePick Delta is an affordable, open-source electronics manufacturing system that sits on your desktop. It's capable of building complex electronic circuit assemblies, like Arduino and Raspberry Pi accessories. It is also able to 3D print plastic parts, just like a standard 3D printer. It assembles circuit boards just like a conventional pick-and-place machine, by using a vacuum nozzle and camera with computer vision to pick up surface-mount parts from component feeders, and precisely place them down on the circuit board. Our machine has an auto-tool changer, and we're working on designing other tools besides the SMT vacuum tip and the 3D print hotend. The system is capable of holding up to four tools and interchanging between them automatically. This also makes it one of the most versatile 3D printers out there, because it can print in four colors of plastic (or in four separate types of plastic, which would allow a single model to have a mixture of PLA, ABS, nylon, and NinjaFlex, for example).

Pick and place machines are used around the world to assemble electronic circuit assemblies, however they usually sell for $50,000 to $500,000. Our machine has a price point of $300 to $5000, depending on modules installed. We should be able to hit that price point by leveraging the open-source technology of the RepRap 3D printer movement. The FirePick Delta is designed to almost completely self-replicate. It is capable of 3d printing its own parts out of PLA or ESD-sensitive ABS plastic. It will also be capable of assembling its own electronic circuit boards. We plan to be the first successful, commercially available RepRap 3d printer to have the power of electronics self-replication. We envision a future where anyone can design (or download existing) electronic projects, and manufacture them in their own home, rather than outsourcing to a traditional factory. This approach saves time and money, and is a much more sustainable solution. FirePick Delta will enable a new wave of small businesses and entrepreneurs to provide unique, bespoke, niche items to the general public, that would be unprofitable for a large conglomerate corporation to manufacture. If you've ever had an electronic project that involved soldering surface-mount electronics, this machine is an incredibly cheap and fun way to do it. If you've ever wanted to sell an electronic board that you've created, and need a way to make lots of them, this machine is for you.

INTENDED USAGE

• Prototyping and small runs of PCB's (under 100 per run). Not intended to be used for mass production.

• Hobbyists, Makerspaces, high school and college students, entrepreneurs, small businesses.

• Great for those with poor eyesight, shaky hands, or those that just don't have the skills to solder on small SMT parts. We occasionally remind those that scoff at our project to check their privileges and remember that not everyone has guru SMT soldering skills or access to a full lab with hot air rework. 

COST

We would eventually like to cover three basic demographics:

• Hacker and Developer Version: Open framework to go crazy with. Purchased with retail parts from US or foreign distributors. Est. Cost: ~$400-$500.
• Maker / Student Version: Base machine in kit form for ~$300-400 is desired. That would not include any tools or feeders, or RasPi or camera. These things are modular and could be purchased at the time of sale or later on. Requires assembly, and support woudl be via internet forum / IRC / mailing list, etc.. The $300 figure is likely more of a BOM cost than final sale price with packaging, shipping, etc.
• Professional version: For the tech startups, businesses, etc. Machine would likely retail for $5,000 to $10,000 for a fully assembled machine, with tech support and warranty, and all the other things that a business would look for, before buying a
• Note that the Hackaday project is built around the Hacker / Developer version as a prototype, and we hope to offer the second (maker / student version) after the prototypes are built, and crowdfunding is secured. Version 3 ($5000-$10000) will be much later on, possibly 1-2 years from now.

DIMENSIONS

• Overall dimensions: 600mm H x 460mm W x 460mm D

• Frame dimensions: 520mm H x 300mm W x 300mm D

• Max PCB size / 3D print volume: 80mm H x 214mm W x 214mm D

CAMERA AND COMPUTER VISION

• Camera: Raspberry Pi 5MP. 3.6mm focal length with f/2.9 aperture. Full control of shutter time, hardware flash, ISO, etc via custom FirePiCam software

• Downward looking vision: Currently supported.

• Upward looking vision: Planned feature. Will be implemented in the coming weeks. Our software chain fully supports it, it's just a matter of making the 3d printed fixtures and trying it out.

• Flying vision: Not yet, but it would be super cool. No timeline to speak of. Forget I even mentioned it.

• Computer Vision Software: FireSight (high-level abstraction layer on top of OpenCV), via FireFUSE and FireREST

• CV Operations implemented: absdiff, backgroundSubtractor, blur, calcHist, calcOffset, Canny, cvtColor, dft (Discrete Fourier Transform), dftSpectrum, drawKeypoints, drawRects, FireSight, HoleRecognizer, HoughCircles, imread, imwrite, matchTemplate, minAreaRect, MSER, morph, normalize, Points2Resolution, PSNR Compare, putText, QRDecode, resize, SimpleBlobDetector, stageImage, threshold, transparent, warpAffine, warpPerspective, warpRing

SOFTWARE

• OpenPnP - Is a project to create the plans, prototype and software for a completely Open Source SMT pick and place machine that anyone can afford. This is the GUI, and the program that handles all of the feeder, camera, and general machien setup, and also the job creation and processing.
• FireSight - A high-level computer vision framework designed for Pick and Place machines, powered by OpenCV. No programming experience required - A pipeline of image operations is specified with a JSON structure. The results of the operations are returned as a JSON structure.
• FireFUSE - FireFuse is the FUSE driver for all FirePick machines. FireFuse maps all hardware input/output functions for FirePick to individual files in the /dev/firefuse virtual file system. For example, the current camera view of the FirePick camera is presented as /dev/firefuse/cam.jpg. Presenting the camera output this way simplifies and generalizes access to the camera, since "it's just a file."
• FireBOM - Similar to ThingDoc, FireBOM will auto-generate BOMs, documentation, real-time pricing and distributerer info, and keeps track of approved vendors and SMT part footprints.
• FireMOTE - A web-based frontend for OpenPnP.
• FireREST - FireREST is an open-source REST protocol for automated manufacturing. With FireREST, you can connect smart camera nodes, CNC application nodes, CNC machines and browser GUIs in a flexible, extensible manufacturing network. For the non-web gurus, this basically allows us to use raw http as a protocol between various systems in a robotics manufacturing network.
• Arduino - Needs no introduction :) We will be designing an Arduino-compatible motion controller with modified RepRap Marlin firmware.
• Raspberry Pi - Not 100% open-source, but their heart is in the right place. We plan on using the new Raspberry PI Compute Module, and the Raspberry Pi camera, to run OpenPnP and the other bits of software.
• OpenCV - is a library of programming functions mainly aimed at real-time computer vision. Written in optimized C/C++. Thankfully, a lot of work has been done to get it working on the Raspberry Pi.
• Linux - Too many crappy Pick and Place machines, only running on Teh Windows :-(
• RepRap - An initiative to develop a self-replicating 3D printer.
• Marlin firmware - The RepRap firmware is a mashup between Sprinter,grbl and many original parts. It runs on an Arduino and handles the very timing-sensitive job of sending STEP and DIRECTION signals to the stepper motor drivers, controls temperature and extrusion. We'll be modifying it to double as a Pick and Place motion controller.
• Greg's Wade Reloaded Extruder - Bulletproof extruder design
• RAMPS v1.4 - Our custom board will be roughly based off the Ramps, but with the added stuff necessary for pick and place.
• StepStick - Allegro A4988 16x microstepping motor driver
• Slic3r - The world's best slicing program for 3d printing
• Printrun - Pure Python 3d printing host software

COMPONENT SIZE / PLACEMENT ACCURACY

(Note many of these are not practical to place, until we get our feeders and vision 100% working)

• Passives down to 0402

• Diodes: SMC, SMB, SMA, SOD128, SOD80, SOD323, MicroMELF

• SOT-23

• QFN, DFN, QFP, SOIC, TSOP, BGA to ~0.4mm pitch

• SOT23-3, SOT23-5, SOT23-6, SOT223, SOT89, SC70, DPAK, D2PAK

• IC's and large/wide components to ~50mm wide

• Aluminum capacitors and tall components <= 15mm H

MODULAR AUTO/RAPID TOOL CHANGING SYSTEM

• Holds up to four (4) tools in the machine at the same time

• System will recognize tools upon insertion. EEPROM in each tool keeps track of SMT nozzle size, and 3D printing parameters like thermistor tables, etc.

• Tools are hot swappable

• Average cost of materials per modular tool: $10 - $500, depending on tool.

• Current tools offered: SMT vacuum nozzle, solder paste dispense, 3D Print hotend.

• Future tools offered: Professional shot-meter style fluid dispense system for scientific laboratory or solder paste / glue dispense.Pen plotter, laser sensitizer (not big enough to cut stuff with), pogo-pin based flying-probe (for voltage testing, etc), Atmel AVR flying-probe programer. Hot air rework station for minor rework. Note that we intend for other members of the open-source community to help us bring these tools into existence, as the need arises.

• MODULAR SMT COMPONENT FEEDER SYSTEM

• ESD-safe via conductive ABS plastic 3D printing filament.

• Average cost of materials per feeder: $5-10

• Auto-recognized by OpenPnP via QR code labels affixed to feeders

• Tape feeders: 8mm, 12mm, 16mm, 24mm, 32mm, 44mm. Drag-feed with (and without) cover-tape winding, and full-auto advancing version for 8mm

• Tray feeders: Non-JEDEC. Holds a few small loose parts. Supports pause/reload prompts.

• Tube feeders: NOTE: We've not started these yet, but see them as minimum risk. We started the tape parts first, since they're more desirable. Will have a vibratory source (DC motor w/counterweight). Will be easy to customize and print custom tube feeders for weird non-standard chokes and coils, etc.

Here is a video of FirePick in action and the main components:




FirePick homepage:

http://delta.firepick.org/

Project homepage on hackaday.io:

http://hackaday.io/project/963-300-pick-and-place-3d-printer

FirePick GitHub repository: https://github.com/firepick1/

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SCADBoard Library and SCADuino 3D printable Arduino breadboard

SCADBoard Library is an OpenSCAD library for making 3D printed circuit boards. You can load it into OpenSCAD and develop your own electronic boards.

SCADboard running in OpenSCAD

First project made with SCADboard is SCADuino, hopefully many more will fallow and library will grow in functionality.

SCADuino is a 3D printable version of the Breadboard Arduino from Arduino.cc. Using OpenSCAD and the SCADBoard library it is easy to create a 3D printable breadboard like the Breadboard Arduino.

Basically, you can 3d print a board where you can attach all the components needed to get functioning Arduino.

You will also need:

• (1) Atmega328P with Arduino bootloader
• (1) 7805 5V Voltage regulator
• (2) LEDs
• (2) 220 Ohm resistors
• (1) 10k Ohm resistor
• (2) 10 uF capacitors
• (1)16 MHz clock crystal
• (2) 22 pF capacitors
• (1) Momentary normally open (“off”) button
• Red and Black 22 AWG wire

Red surface board is printed with holes to fit the elements which are then connected with wires

All the STL files, guide and code to make it and run it can be found at:

http://scaduino.wordpress.com/

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OpenExposer low cost open source SLA 3d printer

Mario Lukas developed OpenExposer, low cost open source SLA 3d printer. OpenExposer is much more than just a 3d printer, it can also be used as UV PCB exposer, laser harp or show laser. It will have different modules for different uses.

Mario writes in project comments:

"The main focus of the OpenExposer Project is on the little red box which should contain all electronic and optical parts. This box should be clampable to different modules. The 3D printer which i am building currently is only one of those clampable modules. For PCB etching i am planing to design a module which works like a laminator."

The frame is made from standard RepRap rods and parts. The main part of 3D printer system is a small slit cut into the bed, and a build platform that moves in the Z axis. The bed contains a  UV laser and a polygon mirror recycled from a junk laser printer. By moving the bed in the Y direction, laser can be targeted anywhere on an X-Y plane. By adding a tank filled with UV curing resin on the bed there is a complete SLA printer.

It is currently still under heavy development but it looks very promising. There will be many problems to solve like varying focal length laser traces the arc from the polygon mirror since laser printers use a specialized type of lens to insure the focus is consistent, allowing a consistent spot size over the entire sweep of the beam.

Mani features:

• unit for multiple laser exposing processes 
• Arduino compatible 
• low cost (standard laser printer) parts 
• case parts lasercut or 3d printable 
• up to 2 stepper motors can be connected 
• additional I/O ports for custom extensions 
• simple protocol 
• extendable host software 

Project homepage with more details, build log and development updates:

http://hackaday.io/project/1129-OpenExposer

OpenExposer GitHub repository:

https://github.com/mariolukas/openexposer

The "Red Box" with SLA module. There are different modules planed like the one for PCB etching. 

First test SLA print results of OpenExposer

Update (20.8.2014.):

Here is OpenExposer shown as working SLA 3d printer and its software tool chain:

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3d printing with guided slew ring wire embedding

Bas de Bruijn, well known for his "pressure adjusted velocity controlled extrusion", made made this interesting wire embedding setup where a slew ring turned by a stepper motor connected to a 5th axis on the control board guides the copper wire in front of the extruder head. The wire is covered by extruded material and be shaped on a surface into various forms.





There are some obvious limitations: the wire has to be continuous, wire can not be cut, no possibility to connect the electronic components which make it unsuitable for making of electronic components. However, according to Bas,  it is quit suitable for other purposes like:

• Coils
• Antennas 
• RFID / NFC antennae
• PCB’s
• Flexible PCB’s (FPC’s)
• embed tubes and other filament types into plastic or other materials, like starch, organic printable stuff etc. etc.
• Use dissolvable PVA as an intermediate to bring wire/chips into tissue

Hopefully the project will be developed further!

Here are some attempts without the guide ring and with pre-positioned and fixated wire:



Source blog post with instruction details on setting the electronics:

http://basdebruijn.com/2014/05/additive-wire-laying/

Don't forget Spoolhead project which tried to develop wire embedding toolhead for 3d printers:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/09/embedding-metal-wire-in-3d-printed.html

Print results. It looks like nice small 3d printed antenna. 

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How to design and use 3d printable soldering stencils

In this post we present methods and software on how to design and use 3d printable solder stencils for your PCB and electronics projects.

Robert Kirberich developed a Python script to convert two Gerber files into a .STL that is 3d printable. It also works with Eagle files. It outputs the files into OpenSCAD .scad files and you can work on them form that environment.

You can find all the software at: https://github.com/kirberich/gerber_to_scad

There is also a web application based on that software you can use freely: http://solder-stencil.me/

Project homepage: https://hackaday.io/project/9550-solder-stencilme

Solder stencil 3d printed using Robert's software

Here is a video tutorial on how to use soldering stencils by SparkFun to stencil an Arduino Pro PCB:



Instructables user rmd6502 made a detailed tutorial how to design a 3d printed soldering mask for your electronics projects. he goes from Eagle EPS to PDF format, then PDF to DXF and then uses OpenSCAD to get the final STL.

He writes:

This is a neat way to save a bit of money when you order boards. Normally you pay an extra $25-50 for a solder stencil, either a silkscreen or a sheet of metal with holes where the solder paste needs to go

Detailed guide can be found at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-3D-print-a-solder-mask/?ALLSTEPS

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PCB etching with UV laser on Pegasus Touch SLA 3d printer

The Pegasus Touch team found out another use for their printer. UV laser can etch UV sensible PCB boards to make surface for electronic components. Pegasus Touch will get software upgrade to implement this function.
This could become standard feature in all UV laser equipped stereolitographic 3d printers, their software and drivers need some simple upgrades which will hopefully be provided by manufacturers or third parties.



One commentator on Hackaday noted:

Neat, but useful?
Currently I print my board on two transparencies, then aligning them on the UV-sensitized board, then placing whole thing under a UV light source. Two minutes of work followed by five minutes of wait?
This new method would have me remove the resin tank, align and mount the PCB to the build platform (double sided tape?), convert my gerbers to a jpg/bmp, then finally print to the 3D printer?
IF it’s saving time/money, it doesn’t appear that significant. Maybe if mounting and aligning the PCB was very quick and easy? Although I’m imagining a frustrating process involving double-side tape and wasted copper clad trying to correct the alignment.

So, this function could be useful in some situations and usage scenarios, but you will get the PCB etching job done faster if you are experienced user. This upgrade is simple software addon, so it is nice to have some extra features in a single machine.

Learn more about Pegasus Touch SLA 3d printer:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2014/01/pegasus-touch-laser-sla-3d-printer.html

If you want to print circuits on your FDM printer you can try this:

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/12/3d-printable-electronic-circuit.html

or get http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.com/2013/12/cartesian-co-ex-desktop-electronic.html

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