PCB Milling Questions

Eagle. The pcb-gcode scripts for Eagle are what I’m using to generate the G-code. pcbgcode@groups.io | Home. Once the G-code is generated, load it into SnapmakerJS to see the origin; you’ll need to know it when you set the origin on the touchscreen.

Thus far, I’ve been unsuccessful in getting a copper clad board to mill with 0.4mm square end mills due to bit breakage. I think I know the main problem (speed), but I only have one bit left; I have more on order and should be here in a couple of days. These are the lessons I’ve learned thus far pertaining to using the end mills:

  1. Make sure the bit is not in the carving module while you mount the board on the build plate. It’s too easy to bump the bit and break it off.

  2. Make sure you run the setup script and lower the speeds from what the defaults are. I was running at the default of 200mm/min and was breaking off bits. I’m going to try 75mm/min on my next attempt.

  3. Be VERY careful when setting the origin that you go the right direction on Z and have the resolution set to 0.05 when fine tuning.

  4. Use the jog controls to find the lowest corner of the board and determine the Z height there. This is necessitated by the lack of bed calibration in the firmware for the carving module and will require that you keep track of how much you’ve moved the Z axis for each corner. You should only have to do this once for each bed swap.

  5. Once you find that Z position, back the bit off 1mm (or 10mm), jog to the x-y origin point, and then lower the bit 1mm (or 10mm) before tapping “Set Origin”. If the origin is within the bounds of the board, manually turn on the carver before lowering the bit so that you don’t damage the bit; after setting the origin, you can raise the bit back up and turn off the carver.

Hopefully, the Snapmaker firmware developers will add calibration to make this process easier.

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