Recommended side cutters for 1mm route PCB depanelization  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 09:24:12 am
content: Can anyone recommend some cutters that are good for PCB depanelization with a 1mm route path?Bonus points if digikey or mouser stock them.The critical factor is the cutter tip being small enough to get into the 1mm path far enough to take the mouse byte out in one go.PCB is 1.6mm thick.This style looks to have a small tip that might work.But all the cutters I've ever used with this design have been shit.https://www.digikey.co.nz/en/products/detail/aven-tools/10521/1992462I don't mind paying up to $75 for something good.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 10:51:32 am
content: FR4 is very abrasive stuff. I can't see even expensive steel ones staying sharp for a significant period of time. Carbide tipped might last longer but you'll probably find it difficult to find them thin enough.Your best bet is probably to get a bulk pack of those cheap ones (of the style you linked, but you can get them a hell of a lot cheaper) and be prepared to change them frequently.

author: Zeyneb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 11:09:57 am
content: A long time ago I purchased a mini table saw for PCB depanelization. They also offer a little diamond blade which is I believe 0.7 mm in thickness. This works well for FR4 material and the diamond blade doesn't dull that fast.At the time a company called Proxxon offered these. But not any more. However, almost the same type can be bought from the american Micromark company:https://www.micromark.com/MicroLux-Mini-Tilt-Arbor-Table-Saw-for-Benchtop-Hobby-Use_2

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 11:16:39 am
content: If the boards aren't populated, don't they snap apart? If not, a small shear would work. If populated, I would consider a non-reinforced Dremel-type cut-off abrasive wheel.The fuzzy drawing from Digikey shows total thickness of both blades to be 5mm. That suggests each is 2.5mm thick. Sure the tips can be sharpened to get into a 1mm space, but I agree w/ Gyro they won't last long. Hence, I would consider cheap Plato labeled snips (e.g.,https://www.ebay.com/itm/144038837876).

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 11:21:40 am
content: Even tiniest of side cutters will not pass through 1mm route to the other side. Not to say small pointy end will wear out in no time while cutting FR-4. 2 mm route makes cutting PCB out bearable but still require very thin side cutters. 2.5-3mm should be fine.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 08:24:24 pm
content: Quote from: Zeyneb on November 12, 2022, 11:09:57 amHuh? The saw and that blade are both on the website:https://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/27070.php

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 08:54:46 pm
content: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hisco.com%2FProduct%2F8247-30425&psig=AOvVaw2bxk8iT0fgI6CPzw60Ce_8&ust=1668372851892000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCKCngavDqfsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAG

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 09:08:40 pm
content: Thanks, Those ones are definitely an option.Quote from: jpanhalt on November 12, 2022, 11:16:39 amThe boards are populated. I can snap the mouse bites by bending, but it puts too much stress on the components. I need to cut 2 of them first. Then bending is fine.I'm now wondering if mounting the dremel as a table router might be an option. with 0.9mm router bit.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2022, 11:11:38 pm
content: https://en.goot.jp/products/detail/yn_210ashttps://www.elmisrl.it/en/product/esd-depaneling-tool-piergiacomi-dp-series-1-2-5mm/No recommendation just google, 1.0mm blade thickness.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 06:22:12 am
content: If bending them to snap the sections apart is putting too much stress on the mounted parts, then what is a tool that uses wedge shaped jaws that are intended to cut wire going to do?I like the small table saw option. You are not limited to the blades on the sites that sell them. A tool supplier can offer slitting saw blades in a wide range of sizes, including the kerf width the produce and with cutting materials like diamond and carbide. I would not recommend diamond due to the dust problem (see below). Just one source:https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/tn?navid=2106272&searchterm=slitting+saw+bladesProblem is, your $75 budget may not even buy just the blade.A 0.9mm router bit is going to be subject to breakage if not used properly. That means you will have breakage if you feed it by hand. HSS tools would dull so fast you will be changing them after just a dozen mouse bites. Carbide would last longer but would break a lot easier. And diamond would produce a fine dust which you don't want to inhale so a mask and dust control would be needed.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 07:05:31 am
content: See also: nibbler tool. Used to cut slots in sheet stock, seems ideal here. Sleemanj's examples are basically specialized versions of this.I don't see any reason to use cutting tools here, especially with the problems of clamping (where do you clamp an assembled PCB?), setup (you want to put every one into a mill?!), and dust, and perhaps vibration and other forces too. Perhaps some situations would still need such a solution, but it sounds to me, at best, an exhaustion of better alternatives, and more likely a failure of layout/design.Tim

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 08:54:23 am
content: Quote from: T3sl4co1l on November 13, 2022, 07:05:31 amYes, time for a better mouse bite design.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 09:09:16 am
content: Using a side cutter also causes quite some stress to the PCB. Not for long, bit as a short shock like spike.There may be the option to use a kind of saw blade, normally intendet to a hack saw, but used without the holder. It would not last very long, but they are cheap.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2022, 09:23:42 am
content: Last long? I've had two bimetal hacksaw blades on my bench for years now, one in a saw frame, one free. Not that I do a great volume of prototypes here, but both still cut FR4 just fine! Noticeably dull in the high-use spots, but not too much is needed as the resin part is soft.Fiberglass, it's a material that's rather soft in bulk, but highly abrasive when cut. So, steel tools for example can do fine, they do dull quickly, but they are useful to a duller condition than when cutting steel for example.I have a couple other plain steel tools, that I use on FR4 from time to time, and resharpen regularly as such. One (a scraper made from the broken tang end of a dull file), every couple of boards say; another (craft blade), constantly because it's made of painfully soft (spring temper?) steel that can't even hold an edge cutting wood or paper...Also have a couple carbide drills, because drilling is fairly nasty in comparison, drills are harder to sharpen free-hand, and you tend to be doing a lot of holes at a time. HSS or even carbon steel is fine for a few to maybe hundreds of holes, that's about it.Tim