“I’ve made a number of projects and Instructables with electronic circuits. And most of them used a prototyping PCB. This works fine, and it’s a quick way to finish a project. But creating a PCB yourself gives a project a more professional appearance. It looks less messy, and reduces the chance of faults and defects. That is why I started researching how to make PCBs.
It has been a few decades since I have designed and etched my last PCB. And for some future projects, I want to make small PCBs myself. These will not be complex, just one or two layers. And I would rather not use any chemicals. That is why I decided to make PCBs using a CNC machine.
I have some experience with hand routers, and I’ve made a drone frame with a dremel router once. Unfortunately this router isn’t accurate enough to make PCBs.I also have experience with 3D printers. My previous Instructable was about creating and improving an Anet A8 3D printer.
In this Instructable I combine these two items: Controlling a dremel with an Anet A8 printer. This won’t be a fast and very strong CNC machine, but it should be capable of making PCBs.
I usually make the design of an electrical diagram on paper. And after some iterations this results in a workable schedule for a prototype PCB.This instructable uses the Autodesk Eagle PCB design tool. I started with the Circuit Board Design Class. In this course an electrical diagram is made in Autodesk Eagle (lesson 2). This is converted into a PCB design (lesson 3). And from this point the course continues with selecting a manufacturer for the PCB.
This instructable replaces step 3. I’ll be my own manufacturer, making the PBC. This reduces cost, and I don’t have to wait a few days for my PCB to arive.”