A little push?  (CNC,CAM,Milling) �ber newbie

On 5/4/2010 5:55 PM, LuisMa wrote:

Hi, i feel kind of a goof ball asking but

i want to use eagle to have my campus CNC router do my PCBs and ditch the

dreaded and temperamental ferric chloride.

  but i came across lots of terms and information each saying " this is THE

method", can you  please point me in the right direction?

 

1)CAM and CNC milling/routing/drilling is the same, right?

 

2) there is apparently a " mill-outlines" script in EAGLE which generates

drill and mill files. if its that simple , why all the fuss and plethora of

formats?

(excellon, gerber,  G-Code, and a big Etcetera)

 

all the info i've see so far doesnt say why NOT  to use a format/method, i

need to know if its a choice or if it depends on something

 

 

3) cant i just export the drill fill/job and pop the circuit board in and

"presto!" ?

 

First experience with CNC , promise, next post will be actually insightful

and non-newbie .

 

 

Hi Luis,

Gary covered most of your questions very eloquently, and he is correct I

would just like to add a couple of points.

For question 2, the format used is dependent on the machine. Many CNC

machines use the G-code file format so in order to produce you board you

would run the appropriate ulp (There's a good one up on the site

gcode-1). The output file can then be used to program the machine at

your school, afterwards it's pop in circuit board, PUSH BUTTON, then presto!

In all seriousness, the method you use will depend on the capabilities

and design of the machine at your school so you need to figure those

details out first. Once you know what the machine needs you can generate

the appropriate files and generate your board.

Hope this helps,

Jorge Garcia

Cadsoft Computer

On 5/4/2010 5:55 PM, LuisMa wrote:

Hi, i feel kind of a goof ball asking but

i want to use eagle to have my campus CNC router do my PCBs and ditch the

dreaded and temperamental ferric chloride.

  but i came across lots of terms and information each saying " this is THE

method", can you  please point me in the right direction?

 

1)CAM and CNC milling/routing/drilling is the same, right?

 

2) there is apparently a " mill-outlines" script in EAGLE which generates

drill and mill files. if its that simple , why all the fuss and plethora of

formats?

(excellon, gerber,  G-Code, and a big Etcetera)

 

all the info i've see so far doesnt say why NOT  to use a format/method, i

need to know if its a choice or if it depends on something

 

 

3) cant i just export the drill fill/job and pop the circuit board in and

"presto!" ?

 

First experience with CNC , promise, next post will be actually insightful

and non-newbie .

 

 

Hi Luis,

Gary covered most of your questions very eloquently, and he is correct I

would just like to add a couple of points.

For question 2, the format used is dependent on the machine. Many CNC

machines use the G-code file format so in order to produce you board you

would run the appropriate ulp (There's a good one up on the site

gcode-1). The output file can then be used to program the machine at

your school, afterwards it's pop in circuit board, PUSH BUTTON, then presto!

In all seriousness, the method you use will depend on the capabilities

and design of the machine at your school so you need to figure those

details out first. Once you know what the machine needs you can generate

the appropriate files and generate your board.

Hope this helps,

Jorge Garcia

Cadsoft Computer