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EINSTEIN CNC

Milling PCBs (double sided) as easily as 3D Printing

henrik-sorensenHenrik Sorensen
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Making double sided PCBs (1 off/prototyping) can be a bit annoying (switching bits, aligning PCB for milling both sides etc.).
This project is my take on a PCB mill (yet another one, you probably think), but with a twist:

I want the full 3D printer experience when milling PCBs: Insert USB stick, select file and press "Run". Only needing user assistance for flipping the board.

I've been annoyed for a while with the alignment of boards when milling double sided PCBs. So, I've decided to make a customized version of a PCB mill which makes this so much easier. And while doing that, why not create the whole "3D Printer" experience?

Basically, I want to insert a USB stick and press Play. And only have to do something, when I have to flip the board (unless I figure something out). 

The minimum features are:

  1. 200x300 mm2 work area (been running out of space on my current CNC3018)
  2. Optical alignment of the board for making double sided boards
  3. Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) for the ER11 collet
  4. Support GERBER (KiCad output) as input format
    1. Automatic Toolpath Generation - or a plugin for KiCad
  5. Software runs on Raspberry Pi with a touch screen

Nice to have features:

  1. Automatic Board flip function

a67e713f-d0cf-416c-b839-aa5852648f32.mp4

MPEG-4 Video - 1.36 MB - 05/03/2025 at 11:10

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  • 1 × Piranha CNC (Custom Sized)
  • 1 × PuzzleBox Mini CNC Controller
  • 1 × Innomaker 1080P USB2.0 UVC Camera

  • Movement test with PuzzleBox32 Mini

    Henrik Sorensen • 06/02/2025 at 10:30 • 0 comments

    Got the PuzzleBox32 Mini up and running with GRBLHal.

    1. Tested all limit switches (TL-W5MC1) and they are working!
    2. Tested the probing and it's working!
    3. Tested movements on all axis and they are working!
    4. Configured GRBL settings for correct direction, step sizes, limit switches
    5. Tested old PWM board - sent 10V back to the ESP32 and that was unfortunately (luckily this was done on a demo board, so it didn't fry the PuzzleBox32 Mini)

    Next, the PWM board will be redesigned and made. 

    Most of all, the optical hole finding code needs to be updated to be more automatic (Baby steps...)

  • Fisheye conversion works... sort of

    Henrik Sorensen • 05/06/2025 at 14:13 • 0 comments

    Played around with OpenCV for fisheye lens compensation. The new camera isn't ideal for this, but it fits better underneath the Z axis. Done the chessboard test and got some decent results from it. 

    Next step is to make a script for automatic centering the camera over the hole.

  • Hole tracking works.

    Henrik Sorensen • 05/03/2025 at 11:12 • 0 comments

    Got the alignment hole tracking to work in a simple demo script using a cheap Chinese "microscope" camera with a decent lens. 

    Switching to another smaller camera with a fisheye lens, so conversion is needed. 

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