Making PCB with 3. D Printer and permanent marker. There are a lot of ways to create your own PCBs at home. I have used the toner transfer method for a while, but its a pain to use the ironing iron and then dissolve the paper and so on. Some of the methods are Toner transfer and etching Isolation routing with CNC Draw with a permanent marker directly on to the copper clad and etch UV light, photoresist PCB copper clad, transparency and etching. Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' title='Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' />We are constantly pushing ourselves for better printed circuit boards PCB. One thing weve learned is that PCB fab houses such as Advanced Circuits, BatchPCB. Download the free trial version below to get started. Doubleclick the downloaded file to install the software. PCB Library Expert Tens of Millions of FREE Parts Software. The PCB Library Expert is a powerful CAD library development tool powered by our own proprietary CAD. Different PCB packages output Gerber data with different file extension names. But, the Gerber data in the file is still Gerber. If you have a Gerber viewer, or a CAD. I have always wanted to try a CNC to mill a PCB isolation Routing. When I finally got myself a 3. D printer, I could give it a try. But it was not easy. The Copper clad has to be compleatly flat, there is a lot of noise, its a BIG mess, and the 3. D printer is not rigid enough. So I combined permanent marker with isolation routing. ViewMate2.png/500px-ViewMate2.png' alt='Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' title='Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' />Or sort of. I made myself a holder for a steel rod that could scrape off excessive marker from the copper clad board. I used Sketchup to draw the 3. D model for the holder You can download the 3. D model from Sketchup 3. D Warehouse. I exported the parts as STL files. I used meter as the unit in Sketchup and mm as unit for the 3. D printer. stl file. So one meter in Sketchup is one millimeter in real life. D printable file 3. DPrinterPCBmakersteelrodholderforK8. This design will only work with the K8. Velleman. If you want to try this on other printers, youll have to redesign the rod holder. I used some M3 and M5 bolts to assemble the rod holder. The rod itself is rolling on 8 ball bearings. The ball bearings are 1. At the top I assembled a ring attached with a rubber band so the rod will be pressed down to the print bed with a soft touch. This will compensate for uneven copper clads and print beds. The steel rod is from an old flat bed scanner. Pcfx Rom more. Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' title='Viewmate Gerber File Viewer' />I filed it down to a sharp point. The pointier, the better. I then mounted it on the printer Before I start I clean the copper with steel wool and acetone. I then covered the copper with black permanent marker. The type of marker will have an effect on the result. Youll need to experiment with different markers to find one working well. I used one from a norwegian grocery store Rema. I then attached the copper board to the printer with som tape. I designed the PCB with Free. PCB. Its a bit outdated, but its easy to use, and its what Im used to work with. You might want to use Ki. Cad instead. That is a bit more up to date, and is still under active developement. I exported to a Gerber file from Free. PCB. Then I have to create the G code for the printer. I used a great program called Flat. CAM. Its a bit tricky to get used to at start, but its really flexible. Import the Gerber file into Flat. CAM FileOpen Gerber. Select the imported file by clicking it The Gerber has to be mirrored because this i the bottom layer. Click ToolDouble Sided PCB Tool. Select Y and Box and then click Mirror Object. Check that you are working in millimeters. I think most 3. D firmware are working in mm, so youll need to have G Code in mm as well To make the isolation paths, click the Selected tab. Be sure you have selected the gerber file in the Project tab. Set the Tool dia, Width and the Pass overlap as below, and click Generate Geometry under Isolation Routing. You may need to experiment with these parameters, and test what will fit your printer best. Gerber viewer and editing workhorse. Packed with Power User features, Smart DFM makes CAM setup easyFix, Save, Quote and Order PCBs instantly. Free PCB CAD Viewer Gerber Viewer Software. Email The software download link and periodic updates will be sent to this address. Please double check that your email. Go back to the Project tab and select all the new geometries created. Click EditJoin Geometry in the menu. Select the new Combo geometry created. Click the Selected tab. Fill in parameters under Create CNC Job. Cut Z0 means that the printer will scrape at Z0 mm. Travel3 means that the printer will lift 3mm before travel to next scrape location. Youll need to adjust the for your printer, and experiment what will be the best for you. Select the Combocnc just created. Go to the Selected tab and click Export G CodeYour G Code will look something like this If you use Marlin firmware for your printer, youll need to change the G Code a tiny bit. Just replace Y with Y so all capital Y will get a space in front of it. Like this Open your 3. D printer software. In my case I use Repitier Host. Go to the G Code Editor and paste all your new G Code. If you click Show Travel, the whole G Code will be visible as travel. There will be no layers visible since there is no extrusion in the G Code. Now, youll need to position the metal rod and zero your printer X, Y and Z so that it will fit the copper. Move the tip of the metal rod to the lower left corner of the copper clad board. Ensure the printer will have no trouble travel the whole copper board. Lower the tip so that it touches the copper plate, and the lower it another mm. This will tension the rubber band and give lite pressure to the copper plate. This will be the height for the Z for the scraping part. Remember that the tip will only lift 3mm as we specified in Flat. CAM. In this case it will travel just 2mm above the copper board since we went down 1mm below zero. Now youll have to zero out the printer X,Y,Z. Go to Manual Control tab, and enter these G Codes G9. X0 Y0 Z0. M1. 14. You will have to press Enter or Send for each line. As a precaution, its recommended to watch the printer starting and ensure it will not crash or travel beyond the limits. Liberty Basic 4 Companion Games'>Liberty Basic 4 Companion Games. I used the power for the printer to stop all movements if I saw something strange happening. That might save your printer for a mishap. The 3. D printer in work When finished the copper will look something like this Then I used some ferric chloride to etch away the exposed copper And then I have the finished resulting PCB ready to be drilled Feel free to comment, like and share.