This sort of garage(-ish) fabrication is incredibly inspiring. From just copper-on-fiberglass blanks and probably somewhere around $10k-$20k of equipment (hence the -ish), you can automatically:...
But there's always been one thing I haven't been able to figure out. Vias.
Vias are super difficult and time consuming to make yourself, with a bunch of acid baths, electroplating, and chemicals.
What if you had a [circuit] board, a template PCB with a standard array of vias already baked into it?
This sort of garage(-ish) fabrication is incredibly inspiring. From just copper-on-fiberglass blanks and probably somewhere around $10k-$20k of equipment (hence the -ish), you can automatically:
Etch traces into copper plating
Cut through-holes into circuit board substrate
Etch solder mask
Place solder paste
Place surface-mount parts
The video mentions using rivets for vias, and these are described as “super manual to install”. It seems like these are generally installed as, well, rivets, using a press to install ([1], [2]). I wonder if it'd be possible to instead use pick-and-placeable rivets over solder paste, such that they can simply be reflowed into place? The hardest part would probably be getting solder to bridge the gap on the back of the board, but this seems plausible, if finicky.
Also, I now really want to design/engineer/build an omni-CNC machine that can do everything. That this is obvious to me means that many, many, people have tried and failed to make an omni-CNC machine that can do everything!
This would be pretty cool honestly, lots of time is just wasted waiting for PCBs to be fabbed and I absolutely hate breadboards with the passion of a thousand suns. Related, anyone willing to lend...
This would be pretty cool honestly, lots of time is just wasted waiting for PCBs to be fabbed and I absolutely hate breadboards with the passion of a thousand suns.
Related, anyone willing to lend me approx $20k? :)
Viagrid is a PCB template that allows for rapid PCB prototyping with 2-layer boards and factory-made vias. The blank boards have a standardized array of vias already in them; you just select which net they're connected to by cutting out the front and back layers of your board.
This sort of garage(-ish) fabrication is incredibly inspiring. From just copper-on-fiberglass blanks and probably somewhere around $10k-$20k of equipment (hence the -ish), you can automatically:
The video mentions using rivets for vias, and these are described as “super manual to install”. It seems like these are generally installed as, well, rivets, using a press to install ([1], [2]). I wonder if it'd be possible to instead use pick-and-placeable rivets over solder paste, such that they can simply be reflowed into place? The hardest part would probably be getting solder to bridge the gap on the back of the board, but this seems plausible, if finicky.
Also, I now really want to design/engineer/build an omni-CNC machine that can do everything. That this is obvious to me means that many, many, people have tried and failed to make an omni-CNC machine that can do everything!
This would be pretty cool honestly, lots of time is just wasted waiting for PCBs to be fabbed and I absolutely hate breadboards with the passion of a thousand suns.
Related, anyone willing to lend me approx $20k? :)
Github link: https://github.com/opulo-inc/viagrid