PAW3 - NU-SockiSop

[matseng]

MickM; Can you cut 1.6mm (.063”) FR4 boards with it? Or only phenolic boards?

[systemstech]

Hi MickM;

Hi systemstech ;
It's just a cheap one.
Photo attached.
I just press down very firmly so that the pcb doesn't squirm away.
It's about 10" square, I bought it used to experiment with.

Mick M

I almost bought one just like yours. but what stopped me was that I thought it might not cut perfectly straight or it would shear the board.

[systemstech]

Maybe I can use this to cut out the boards.


IMG_2980 by systems tech, on Flickr

I built this cnc router about two years ago and it hasn't got much use. because of it's weight it's not easy to move around.

[matseng]

Ohh... It looks very solid... Maybe you could put it on some lockable caster wheels?

[matseng]

The Seeedstudio order of the Sockisop PCB's are done. I ordered a SOB 5050 and a SOB 10080 enclosure as well...

[MickM]

Matseng;
It cuts regular FR4 1/16" ok.
I think Phenolic would shatter.

Now as to how long it will last ...
I was surprised that it worked, and well.
I cut normal PCB's from Seeed with it.
The board will want to twist and move, so lots of left hand pressure.

Mick M

[SparkysWidgets]

When I get panels from Advanced, I usually just v-score them myself with a razor blade and straight edge setup. It doesn't really even take that much pressure if you make multiple passes, and with a good initial pass the blade will follow the score. I have used shears, and "paper" cutters before but this method seems to have the best result. I would imagine a table with a slot similar to a tile cutter but with pipe cutting wheels(both sides) mounted on linear carriers that are spring loaded would make this type of work trivial.

[matseng]

When I get panels from Advanced, I usually just v-score them myself with a razor blade and straight edge setup. It doesn't really even take that much pressure if you make multiple passes, and with a good initial pass the blade will follow the score.

Two tips:

1) Use 0.8 mm boards if you don't need 1.6 for rigidity reasons. They are a breeze to score once with a blade on each side and then just break apart.

2) Remove the top/bottom soldermask so the substrate is base on an about 0.25 to 0.5 mm high rectangle between the sub-boards. This will make the cutting easier since the blade gets an indentation to follow - and you don't need to cut through the mask either.

[Sleepwalker3]

I would like a 0.5mm thin diamond coated blade on a small table saw... That would be nice. But for the time being I stick to 0.8 mm pcb that can be separated by hand after a quick scratch with a box cutter on each side.

I bought a cheapie Tile Saw (wet blade) for this purpose, but that was just before I discovered Seeed and so I've never actually used it, so don't know how well it would work. It has a (supposedly) diamond blade, but when it run it has quite a bit of run-out (wobble), but possibly good enough. I think it was about $80 at the time.

[systemstech]

I think a wet saw is the only way to go. I bought the cheapest wet saw you could get($40) and
it does the best job at cutting quick and smooth.
http://youtu.be/Y8tbs_6qiRc

[matseng]

Maybe a few passes with a laser cutter could work as well. As long a there isn't any copper where the cuts are being made the laser should atleast be able to char the epoxy and make it really brittle. The glassfibres will still be there ofcourse, but it should make the board easy to snap apart.

[arhi]

I really like the idea of cutting it with laser ... I only miss a laser cutter :(

[systemstech]

I would think the best way to cut this would be a waterjet. But does anyone have a personal waterjet other than a toothbrush.
Think about it no dust and just as fast as a laser if not faster.

[matseng]

The boards arrived today...

[matseng]

I separated the individual boards on one of the PCBs and discovered that I've been putting the boards a bit too close together for comfort. Normally this spacing would have been ok, but these boards have too many holes too close to the edges so they are a bit hard to break apart without damaging the holes.

But with a few more and deeper cuts with the box knife I got them separated....

So.... 'Remainder to myself - next time when you have a lot of holes close to the edge separate the boards a bit more.'

I soldered in some random parts and pin headers to see if they actually can be used. I.E footprint for the part is ok and that the pin headers ended up at 0.1" pitch. And yes. All seems to be just fine. As can be seen on the SOIC16- & TSSOP-16 I've added a power led/resistor and a decoupling cap as well, but I didn't wire them up to gnd/vcc of the chip.

SOIC16 = DS3231 - Precision RTC

TSSOP16 = AD9832 - DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis)

SOIC8 = MC34063 - Step Up/Down/Inverting Switching Regulator

SOT23-6 = FAN5333 - Switched mode boost controller

SOT23 = 2 pcs of 2N7002 N-NET transistors

No TSSOP-8 part available