Isolation milling a PCB with the CNC 3018Pro from Mostics

[@mariomanus3176]

Also bought one of these 3018pro's for PCB milling. The allure of fast easy drilling of holes, doing away with the hassles associated with acetates, and UV processing was just too much to resist😉. However, in reality, as is from the shop, these 3018pro's will never do a good enough and acceptable results, as can be seen in this video. Results as shown in WEGSTR cnc videos are but a dream with these machines. The vibration induced by the spindle alone plays great havoc on the machines inherent lack of structural rigidity resulting in poor traces, broken traces, misaligned holes, broken bits and difficult to reproduce results to name a few. Other vloggers have done rails, gantry and spindle upgrades that are more costly than the machine itself. And the results are just acceptable. If you still want one, be prepared for disappointment. On the upside, its also fun learning these machines.

[@HomoFaciens]

Yes, you can't expect the same results from cheap machines as from the expensive ones - that's the main rule of market. You get what you pay for. You can create boards for through hole assembly with a certain trace width and so learn the basics with this machine out of the box and so learn the basics.

[@spacewalla3574]

Terrific review. Our Men’s Shed is buying one of these and I’m so exited. Thanks again for the video.

[@JesseSchoch]

for the love of god, can someone please buy him a modern soldering iron!

[@HomoFaciens]

...made my day! ;)) There is a donate button on my pages. So if you mind seeing that old device in future videos, write "Soldering Iron" on the money transfer ;-)

[@JesseSchoch]

@@HomoFaciens I hope you made that thing, what is it? The tip looks 100 years old. Also thanks for the videos, you are an inspiration!!!

[@HomoFaciens]

It is a cheap 20W soldering iron from a nearby hardware store I grabbed ages ago. When the tip was worn out I replaced it with a piece of thick copper wire, simply because I wanted to go on with my work. And as almost all quick fixes - they last forever ;-) Meanwhile I received a donation with "soldering Iron" on the money transfer (was it from you?), so I guess I must now look for a new, better one...

[@dirkderkdurk]

@@HomoFaciens I donated suggesting a TS100, as mine has served me well, but it's up to you, of course!

[@HomoFaciens]

Many thanks, Dirk! The TS100 is a 12-24V soldering iron. If it works fine with 12V it would definitely be an option as that means I could operate it with a car battery during outdoor missions.

[@DavidtheSwarfer]

Very interesting, I am about to mill a pcb on my Openbuilds Ox, bCNC has a built in leveller. I plan to use the vbit to spot the holes and then drill them manually with my dremel in a stand. My board is double sided so I have to get the alignment holes right for the second side. The board I am making is going to plug into the Arduino that runs my cnc to allow me to attach my lazer module.

[@Otemaonen]

Great video. May I suggest you use the v bit to "centre punch" the holes before using the 1 mm drill bit to drill them through?

[@HomoFaciens]

Yes, someone else also told me to do so, thanks.

[@GarryHeard]

Use a high quality 60 deg up cut spiral bit with 0.1mm or less tip width and the results are significantly better than those with the cheap V-bits. Even after height mapping it is advisable to adjust the zero depth with a test cut or two to get perfect copper removal with minimal board contact.

[@HomoFaciens]

Yes, quality tools usually are worth the money. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@bertbronson8395]

TIP: ALWAYS drill your holes FIRST... otherwise a duller bit can rip pads off.

[@HomoFaciens]

Yes, thanks, you are not the first to tell me about that. ;-)

[@eddylespinoy7447]

I pre-mill the holes with the V-bit to "-0.2mm"...after that, your 1mm drill won't "walk-away" and you'll get high precision drilling ;-)

[@HomoFaciens]

Yes, that's what other comments also suggest. Will do so next time I am routing a PCB.

[@rowdyperson6393]

I have seen one of these for £229 and £289. Are they all the same or would they be different machines. I need one that can both machine wood and lazer wood. Thanks

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice video, keep it up, thanks :)

[@pileofstuff]

That is an interesting machine. Especially for a similar price to a basic 3D printer.

[@PhG1961]

Great review ! I like it !

[@Metroid1890]

molding clay, that was clever

[@bobdole27]

I just bought one the other week

[@Berghiker]

Can I use FlatCam with the CNC 3018 PRO?

[@HomoFaciens]

If FlatCam supports grbl based machines or can export Gcode, that should work.

[@ratbagley]

Yes you can

[@GarryHeard]

Yes, it works well

[@hardwareboy5079]

nice cnc

[@davevengelen]

Any info on the used feeds and speeds?

[@HomoFaciens]

100mm/min for isolation milling.

[@nikoniko3037]

What sofftware you use with autolevel?

[@HomoFaciens]

A Perl script I have written, that also does the rest of the cutting.

[@Berghiker]

How can I change the speed to maximum rpm?

[@HomoFaciens]

By sending the line S1000 to grbl. The spindle pwm can be set fom 0 to 1000.

[@Berghiker]

@@HomoFaciens Not 10 000?

[@HomoFaciens]

No. Read the grbl wiki to learn more.

[@GuilhermeGomes2]

Do you think it will handle smd circuitry? I was thinking about applying the idea of drilling in water for pcb as well.. any thoughts on this? Well done video!

[@HomoFaciens]

I haven't dealt with smd boards, yet and this CNC won't be capable of doing too fine structures, because of the not so perfect runout. Drilling and routing in water would effectively bind the dust particles.

[@GuilhermeGomes2]

@@HomoFaciens any ideas on hacking it to make it better? because that's what I am going to try then

[@HomoFaciens]

You'll need to replace the DC motor with a spindle having a clearly better runout.

[@GuilhermeGomes2]

@@HomoFaciens I will try to make an adaptation with a electric steering wheel motor..

[@GarryHeard]

You can do SMD boards, but there are limits to the trace width and isolation widths. It takes some practice. You will not be able to do the smallest parts, but many parts that you can hand solder will work.

[@DPTech_workroom]

I did something similar... 🙃

[@salaufer]

You sound like you're 10 feet tall. I want you to narrate my life.

[@HomoFaciens]

1.91m :))

[@gedr7664]

can it mill Aluminium (something like 4mm thick)? many thanks!

[@HomoFaciens]

Rather not out of the box with the weak spindle and the not so good runout, but I haven't tried, yet.

[@panosaustrian]

i have tried it. it can mill aluminium. the depth must be 0.5 mm with a 4mm flute. feed rate about 3-5 although

[@mariomanus3176]

Have you already tried? It has even difficulty milling PCBs.

[@GarryHeard]

3018's are made by several manufacturers with varying quality. They are generally not rigid enough for aluminum, but small jobs can be done with patience.

[@xanamata5386]

really short nose of the soldering iron .

[@HomoFaciens]

That nose is a piece of thick copper wire (the old tip has gone for a long time). It is so short, because that cheap soldering iron has only 20W. With a longer tip, the heat transfer would be too low for the relatively wide copper tracks.

[@xanamata5386]

@@HomoFaciens it makes me feel shame , having 2 soldering irons and i have not use one enough , to have a need for a second one .

[@HomoFaciens]

I use that old, worn out soldering iron not because I could not afford a new one. I just can't throw things in the bin that still work (somehow). So no need to feel ashamed ;-)

[@xanamata5386]

@@HomoFaciens my feeling of shame is about my ratio of consumerism to productivity . i also dont like to throw things away even if there are not working , i feel that there might be an other use for them or use something from them . a brick is a brick when we put it on a wall , but it can be useful and for other things that was not designed for . i am sure you can afford a second one or a third and a forth and i liked that you used that one . i find it a good example .