pCarve 2.0 - pcb engraver, enclosures, laser etching and more - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: klayus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 09:01:55 am
content: Hello, every one. I should introduce my self firstMy name is Dragos, i'm 30 years old, and i'm from Romania. I'm an electronics engineer.About 2 years ago I woke up at 6 (instead of 7) cause my girlfriends birthday was coming up and I wanted to make for her a small heart shaped circuit that lights up at night. She doesn’t like the dark and wanted a small night lamp. Well I’ve built the circuit with the classic toner transfer technique and it was a mess. I’ve never got good results with toner but this was one of those days that it didn’t want to work at all. And trying to cut a heart shape out of pcb by hand didnt turn out as good as i was imagining it. So out of frustration I’ve decided to build my own cnc machine, designed for rapid pcb etching, cutting, I love the silkscreen on top so I wanted that too, makes life so much easier when you’re assembling your circuit to see the components instead of having to go back and forth to the computer for details. I really hate loud repeating noises, hate having to deal with chemicals and never found good enough paper for toner transfer. And if all this wasn’t enough motivation I especially hate drilling holes in pcbs. It’s a major pain, I hate that dust, that smell and it takes a lot of time, and it breaks a lot of drill bits. Clumsy me.So pCarve 1.0 took birth. It was made from 10 mm thick transparent acrylic, it was kinda sloppy but it did the job. I just had to run the gcode and watch it “dance” and finish my pcb. Few things in life I enjoy more than watching my machine carving my circuit.I wasn’t really satisfied, I knew I could improve it. So pCarve 2.0 took birth. It’s made from polyamide, it has an work area of 285 x 200 x 40 mm height. It’s fast, accurate and best of all it’s silent. At least compared to the rest of the cncs I’ve seen or worked with.I’m using t2.5 belt with steel insertion for the X and Y axes, trapeze screw for the Z. it has an er11 collet chuck, it runs in 12 mm linear rails. The machine is controlled by grbl on an arudino nano. It has drv8825 drivers, the motor is a brushless motor that spins a precision ground shank. The start stop and speed of the motor is controlled by grbl as well.Here are some picture with the machine:http://s32.postimg.org/9nb8gsi9x/IMAG0928.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/ndeyh2k5h/IMAG0929.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/pl661p8cl/IMAG0930.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/tqqpyh1tx/IMAG0931.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/3nsja93t1/IMAG0932.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/cck9vf8ud/IMAG0933.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/hqlhweosl/375...85ad93c495.jpgHere is a small solder station enclosure I’ve made with the machine:http://s32.postimg.org/knf9uqj5x/IMAG0934.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/r2nhiw4n9/IMAG0935.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/ej1jmmv7p/IMAG0936.jpgHere are some videos with it:https://youtu.be/7FrBSVhmA8whttps://youtu.be/sviWAfxiDu4https://youtu.be/TJDm6ogdWXwhttps://youtu.be/OmcZ4SYHqT8https://youtu.be/vZdb3EsL39Uhttps://youtu.be/tJZHVOiri-chttps://youtu.be/W1e188_DKwohttp://s32.postimg.org/cv4zhw96t/placute_gata.jpghttp://s32.postimg.org/tmdwhjk3p/Untitled.pngit can also hold an laser engraver, and also has a pen holder. I’m planning on adding a 3d printer extruder, but I’m not sure yet because of the small working height.Don’t know what else to say about it here. If you guys have any questions, askI’d like to sell kits or complete machines. So if anyone is interested, pm me.Best regardsDragos

author: ZeTeX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 10:02:17 am
content: Seems nice, but what is the price?

author: klayus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 12:56:10 pm
content: hey I dont want to transform this post in a comercial one. if anyone is interested i'm happy to give details on pm.also here is the pen holder:ignore the url on the pen, it was a pen i had laying aroundbest regards

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2016, 12:19:42 am
content: Very nice but a couple of questions:1. How did you level the bed so that the engraving is even?2. How are you attaching the blank PCB to the bed?

author: klayus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 30, 2016, 06:13:55 am
content: the bed is quite even, besides i'm using an autoleveler when milling pcb's. but if i see any problems with the level of the bed i just mill 1 or 2 mm off the bed to make it level with the mill.i'm using double sided adhesive tape, the foamy type. for double sided pcb's i use some reference holes. it works great!

author: moffy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2016, 12:11:57 am
content: Sorry for the delay. Thank you for your response. I tried using some carpet double sided adhesive but I had to almost break the PCB to get it to release. I recently purchased a level piece of aluminum for my CNC bed (12.7*240*440mm), it's guaranteed flat to 0.005'(thousandsth of an inch) over a 2m span. It is also heat treated to remove internal stress, great buy for $90.