PCB Drill

[[email protected]]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

 

[Joerg]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

Pay a PCB house

Anyhow, I'd just check out a Drill-Press stand at Lowe's or HD. You
could even buy it, try it out and return if not satisfied. Provided you
didn't scratch it or anything like that.

My dream some day would be one of those micro lathes. Well, got to have
dreams.

If you need really good tools for precision jobs ask a jeweler. They
know what works.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

I'd be inclined to look for a high speed model - maybe air driven?

 

[Luhan]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

Here is my setup - it works quite well....

http://members.cox.net/berniekm/dremel.html

The drill stand is quite accurate.

Luhan

 

[John Larkin]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

A small drill press or the Dremel with the drill-press attachment will
work. Consider staying with steel drills, as the carbides break easily
if speed and feed rates are not exact.

John

 

[ehsjr]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

Dremel with dremel drill press attachment and
dental burrs. The problem with breaking bits
doesn't occur with dental burrs, in my experience.

Ed

 

[Sergey Kubushin]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

I drill boards with Dremel. When installed in their drill press it's just
fine for carbide bits. I never broke one, even the tiniest bits are fine
with that setup.

 

[Robert Roland]

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

Use surface mount and forget about holes altogether?

Of course, if you make dual layered boards, you still need holes, but
at least you'll need fewer of them.

 

[Nico Coesel]

A small drill press or the Dremel with the drill-press attachment will
work. Consider staying with steel drills, as the carbides break easily
if speed and feed rates are not exact.

I disagree. I have a Proxon drill + drill-press. It is similar to the
Dremel stuff. I've drilled thousands of holes with it using carbide
drills. In over 15 years I broke 1 or 2 drills. Steel drills get dull
too quickly (after about 30 holes) when drilling epoxy/fiberglass
boards.

 

[Nico Coesel]

Use surface mount and forget about holes altogether?

Of course, if you make dual layered boards, you still need holes, but
at least you'll need fewer of them.

If you need dual layer, paying a PCB house maybe cheaper. These days
you can have a lot of PCBs made before the 'investment' and hassle of
having your own etching equipment pays itself back.

 

[petrus bitbyter]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

In my experience carbide bits with thick shafts (3mm) break easily when not
perfectly centered. You cannot seek for the hole in the copper island. So I
tend to use carbide bits with thin shafts, as thin as the holes they are
suppose to drill, normally 0.8mm. I ever started a project to use a camera
and monitor for perfect centering but it is on hold. Busy, busy, busy with
other things.

petrus bitbyter

 

[Frithiof Andreas Jensen]

..

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

Pay a PCB house!!

Considering the time, effort, annoyance, storage space, ruined clothes, the
tedious getting and disposing of chemicals and the often sub-standard results
*I* got with home-made PCB's, I decided that the PCB house is well worth the
money.

 

[Leon]

I disagree. I have a Proxon drill + drill-press. It is similar to the
Dremel stuff. I've drilled thousands of holes with it using carbide
drills. In over 15 years I broke 1 or 2 drills. Steel drills get dull
too quickly (after about 30 holes) when drilling epoxy/fiberglass
boards.

They are better quality than the Dremel and the Minicraft drill and
stand I use; the bearings don't have so much slop in them. My Minicraft
drill has nearly 1 mm play at the chuck, but I don't break too many
tungsten bits.

Leon

 

[Gary Peek]

This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits).

I have been using one for 20 years. It has some wobble, but I have
never broken a bit because of it. I have always liked it.

Gary Peek
Industrologic, Inc.

 

[Barry Lennox]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

I have used a Dremel in it's stand, but found there was a fair bit of
slop and wobble. I now use a 3-speed Proxxon 28121 with used carbide
bits discarded by PCB houses. With the right contacts, you can get
unlimited supplies for free. Start schmoozing.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

If you value your time it would be cheaper to use a PCB house, but
sometimes your time is better considered free. All depends on your
interests vs desire for income.

Barry Lennox

 

[WiseOne]

What sort of price does a PCB cost for making a board?

Can you give an example?

WiseOne

 

[Tom Bruhns]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric
drill and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and
broke very few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about
100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel?
This seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about
the Dremel drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much
wobble for carbide bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill
presses, but the price makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

I can drill with small carbide drills in one of the particular Dremel
drill press stands I have, though I've shimmed it so the table doesn't
wobble so much. Also, I've shimmed the Dremel collet so that the
drills run true. This is for #80 and smaller drills, the sizes I most
commonly drill for "vias" in my mainly surface-mount work. But I like
the drill press I have access to at work a bit better, even though it
can't turn much above 10k RPM.

I've thought of making a better stand for the Dremel (or for a Sioux
1/8" air powered die grinder--love that 50,000+ RPM!). Since the
travel distance required is very small, you can do it by making an "A"
shaped frame, from wood even, mounting the drill motor to the apex of
the A, and attaching the opposite ends firmly to a base. You can use a
cam or lever arrangement to push the apex of the A (and the drill)
down. If the legs of the A are a foot long or so, the offset that the
arc that the drill swings through in drilling a 1/16" board is
inconsequential, if the axis of the drill is aligned with the direction
of travel accurately. With a single A frame, there is nothing to hold
the axis of the drill motor perpendicular to the base (the frame can
twist), but with two A's offset vertically by a few inches, the axis is
also held rigid. Then only the bearings and collet contribute
significant wobble. Springiness of the wood will return the drill to
the "rest" position. The materials are cheap, but the construction
would have to be done carefully to get things aligned right.

I've broken plenty of drills over the years, but it's mostly because
either I'm being careless or the drill is getting dull after a few
thousand holes. Even without shmoozing PCB manufacturers (no longer
common in every large town now anyway), you can get drills for $.50
each or less.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Nico Coesel]

What sort of price does a PCB cost for making a board?

Can you give an example?

There are dozens of companies out there with on-line calculators. Try
www.olimex.com or www.europrint.be to name just 2 examples.

 

[Leon]

I can drill with small carbide drills in one of the particular Dremel
drill press stands I have, though I've shimmed it so the table doesn't
wobble so much. Also, I've shimmed the Dremel collet so that the
drills run true. This is for #80 and smaller drills, the sizes I most
commonly drill for "vias" in my mainly surface-mount work. But I like
the drill press I have access to at work a bit better, even though it
can't turn much above 10k RPM.

I've thought of making a better stand for the Dremel (or for a Sioux
1/8" air powered die grinder--love that 50,000+ RPM!). Since the
travel distance required is very small, you can do it by making an "A"
shaped frame, from wood even, mounting the drill motor to the apex of
the A, and attaching the opposite ends firmly to a base. You can use a
cam or lever arrangement to push the apex of the A (and the drill)
down. If the legs of the A are a foot long or so, the offset that the
arc that the drill swings through in drilling a 1/16" board is
inconsequential, if the axis of the drill is aligned with the direction
of travel accurately. With a single A frame, there is nothing to hold
the axis of the drill motor perpendicular to the base (the frame can
twist), but with two A's offset vertically by a few inches, the axis is
also held rigid. Then only the bearings and collet contribute
significant wobble. Springiness of the wood will return the drill to
the "rest" position. The materials are cheap, but the construction
would have to be done carefully to get things aligned right.

I've broken plenty of drills over the years, but it's mostly because
either I'm being careless or the drill is getting dull after a few
thousand holes. Even without shmoozing PCB manufacturers (no longer
common in every large town now anyway), you can get drills for $.50
each or less.

I keep meaning to make something like your 'A' frame out of a piece of
Al channel with something like Oilite bushings to keep it as rigid as
possible.

I use reground drills, a bit shorter than the new ones but fine for my
purposes and a lot cheaper than new ones.

Leon

 

[Rich Grise]

I've been drilling PCBs for years with a regular handheld electric drill
and non-carbide bits. I've had surprisingly good results and broke very
few bits. But holding that drill does get old after about 100 holes.

I'm looking for an alternative solution to this. A drill press at
www.micromark.com looks decent for 150-200 USD. How about a Dremel? This
seems like an ideal solution, but I've been reading a lot about the Dremel
drill press stands that aren't precise enough (too much wobble for carbide
bits). Ebay has a lot of super-cheap small drill presses, but the price
makes me think they're junk.

What does everyone do, besides pay a PCB house?

FWIW, I've used a Dremel drill press, and always got good results. A real
Dremel drill press thing is pretty stable, and I don't think they're
anywhere near a hundred bucks.

Good Luck!
RIch