Blogs

DIY Flex Circuits

Posted by bGatti on April 29, 2010 at 9:56am

PCB Boards are Cool, but the Holy Grail for robotics are the Kapton Flex Circuits which are both wire and circuit in one.

Using This Material, I was able to CNC a single-sided SMD circuit which is thin and flexible - though not quite Kapton :-(

For lightweight circuits that fit into odd shapes (like fuselages), etc, this is a process that can't be beat. You could probably use a chemical etch, but the CNC does the routing and cutout with the same tool.

First Design in Eagle then export in PCB-GCODE. I used 20mil spacing in eagle and a 16mil tool in gcode with a 3mil default (offset). I glued the scissor-cut material to a thicker PCB with spray glue, then held it down with clamps. It is critical to get the working surface flat (which took time and error).

Find more photos like this on DIY Drones

cnc, flexcircuit, pcb

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Comments

Troy Reabe April 30, 2010 at 9:15am

Sorry I did not add
http://www.zenbotcnc.com/merchant2/
Troy Reabe April 30, 2010 at 9:11am

i don't think the 2K is a good number
http://www.easy-cnc.com/kit3axis.html
so $300 plus $40 shipping for the controller and motors
and if you want to go cheap you can build the frame for under $200
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Three-Axis-CNC-Machin...

or you can check this thread or ebay item
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55603
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-x-16-x-4-ZENBOT-CNC-ROUTER-ENGRAVER-/2605917...

easy-cnc.com

This domain may be for sale!
bGatti April 30, 2010 at 7:38am

@Taylor,
home brew cnc start at about $2K. (About $1K for the framework/mill and another K for the electronics). I think this comes down to $1K for seriously economized models (wood frame etc...)
Andy Geppert April 29, 2010 at 7:25pm

Fantastic and inspiring work! Thank you for sharing it.
Taylor Cox April 29, 2010 at 7:17pm

How much would it cost if I were to build one myself or buy one factory made ?
bGatti April 29, 2010 at 5:00pm

It is homemade by someone - I picked it up on ebay. It has some really poor qualities, (like 1/8 inch vertical play/give) but still managed a nice board.
Taylor Cox April 29, 2010 at 4:40pm

Is it a homemade Cnc. Or is it store bought ?
bGatti April 29, 2010 at 4:37pm

@Taylor,
yes, the cnc (dremel router) removed the unwanted copper. Then cuts the part out.
Taylor Cox April 29, 2010 at 4:05pm

So how does that cnc work with the copper? Do the cnc cut away the excess copper, leaveing the copper traces for the the components to be soldered too?
Dimitar Kolev April 29, 2010 at 11:51am

Some years ago I tried hot iron transfer method to copper plated (single layer) capton and etching after all - was quite good, but nothing followed. As far as I know LPKF S100 and their laser protomat can also handle capton, but on very high price for the machine. 6-8layers rigid flex board/10pcs/ 4 rigid panels/5x5cm with 363 ball BGA and microvias is something like 500USD per piece