@andrew said in What did you build today (Pictures) ?:

so, it is ready. I mean ready to SW development both the schematic and pcb design is now confirmed and fortunately theory meets the practice

it is assembled, programmed, tested, everything works as expected.
I did not mount it to the wall so far (I'll need a controller and real actuators first), but there was no issue with the communication between two nrf modules (both with PCB antenna) from cca 6 meter distance + 2 walls (10 cm brick) in between.

the touch panel's firmware will be enhanced as well as the controller's firmware, at the moment the touch sensing is reliable and a PoC code run on both of them for testing/debugging purposes. for the controller board I'm collecting additional information for the development on the following link:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/8831/which-sensor-and-msg-type-for-switch-dimmer-node-sender-only

@neverdie indeed, unfortunately it is not straight forward every time. it also took me a while to discover the possibilities and fine tune the results.
although I'm not an expert, I'll try to create a howto on the topic. it is on my todo list, together with some write-up on my other electronics and hacking projects.

JFYI: CNC 2418 assembly by me

CNC 2418 assembly timelapse – 05:41
— András Kabai

I'll try to make a blog to describe the whole pcb cnc milling, tools etc, as well as other diy projects. I'll let you know if there is any notable progress...

one step further...

ISP works, FTDI works, test code works, and looks like a genuine board
now comes the hard part

2 gang EU type livolo customisation, from theory to product... still in progress.

!

@neverdie just search for "cnc 2418" on ebay and you can find a lot. almost all of these are Chinese stuff, but works without any issue. based on your needs you can find bigger or smaller versions, such as cnc 1610 or cnc 3020.

the chosen one should be USB connected and GRBL firmware controlled (check it in the description), so you can use it with open source tools, such as bCNC (https://github.com/vlachoudis/bCNC), chilipeppr (chilipeppr.com/grbl). for isolation milling you should use flatcam (http://flatcam.org/) for the G code preparation based on the gerber and drill files exported from KiCAD/eagle/etc.

drill sets, milling bit sets and engraving bit sets could be ordered from China for couple of bucks only.
e.g.:

• drill bits: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-10-Pcs-0-3mm-1-2mm-Import-Carbide-PCB-Drill-Bits-Print-Circuit-Board/32717739217.html
• carving bits https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-10pcs-New-Mini-PCB-wood-drill-Bits-Tungsten-Steel-Carbide-PCB-CNC-drill-Bit-Milling/32702792947.html
• milling bits https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10Pcs-Set-1-8-0-8-3-175mm-Drill-Bits-Engraving-Cutter-Rotary-PCB-CNC-End/32774556522.html

@sundberg84 I often use 0.4mm drill bits for vias without any issue. 0.3mm should work as well. The drill set I linked before contains the most frequently used drill bits for PCB drilling (0.3 – 1.2mm).
regarding to the traces, I have stable and reliable results with 6 mil (0.1524mm) traces / 6 mil clearance, which is also a limitation factor of several PCB manufacturer’s hobby/proto package.

Hacked Livolo touch switch demo with MySensors network – 00:46
— András Kabai

hello everyone,

what is the current status with the quality, fine traces and result stability?
after a long absence I finally had some time to finish my new board and prototype it.
I don't have those issues that appearing for some of you, the result is pretty nice, the milling quality is the same across the whole board.
in this design the thinnest traces were 15mils, and the smallest vias were 0.8mm with 0.3mm drilled holes.

just for reference, please see my relevant configuration options detailed below:

tools

• cnc: cnc2418
• carving: 2001 bit (20 degree, 0.1mm end)
• mounting holes and outline milling: 0.8mm endmill

config

• isolation routing: tool dia: 0.1176326981mm; width (# passes): 2; pass overlap: 0.05mm; cut-z: -0.05mm; feed rate: 200
• milling: tool dia: 0.8mm; cut-z: -1.75mm; feed rate: 170; depth / pass: 0.3mm
• drilling: feed rate: 120

software:

• flatcam
• bcnc (also for the autoleveling)

@andrew Important to note, that I'm still talking about hobby cnc solutions. For professional CNC working and for a pro machine I'd prefer to use as many "pro" and automated solutions as possible.
for occasional hobby purposes defined in this thread, and for these damn cheap machines I think it does not make sense.

pro machines with auto tool change do benefit from auto probing, but that is a total different story.

@NeverDie : well,

• for PCB milling this spring loaded stuff simply does not work, as the whole area should be mapped.
• for non-PCB Z zeroing it could be good, however in such case (imho) this is just an over complicated/engineered method for a simple probing.

when you need a single z touch levelling then better to have a rock solid solution rather then have additional moving parts and potential other vectors for a failure. even with a slow feed rate, a single probe can be done in an acceptable time period, so why should you risk your result?
I can imagine that this spring stuff can help you when you approaching with quite high feed rate for first, but in such case I would be afraid of the "wearing" of the probe surface over time and the inaccuracy it may cause later on.

btw, the "double probing" with fast then a slower feed rate is used by other sw/firmware, e.g. marlin does the same (in certain configurations) for 3d printers.

@NeverDie after changing the tool I always make a single touch probe so Z level can be adjusted to the new tool properly.

This is necessary even for the PCB milling. After the levelling is done, a single touch probe is needed somewhere in the working are to set the Z0 and to make it as a reference point for the bed levelling mesh.
At least this is how it is done in bCNC.
After the isolation routing is done, I make a single Z touch probe for each drill bits to set the correct Z0 for the given bit. This is done in the same way as in case for the PCB probing.
Note that as the drilling on Z axis does not require high precision (basically if your drilling depth is slightly bigger than the PCB thickness, then even if your Z is just roughly adjusted to the PCB top, it will do the job).

As I currently work with PCBs only, no other touch probe was necessary, however for woodworking (or for other non conductive materials) one can use a dedicated "touch probe".

There are nice solutions form a simple PCB:
DIY Z Probe For CNC Machine – 08:26
— Nikodem Bartnik

or
UPGRADE CNC 3018/ PRO Z-PROBE | Z Axis tool probe | GRBL | EASEL | SUB – 10:02
— Cosmo Channel

or you can buy a cheap touch probe as well:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001010640247.html

or you can go for nicer and more expensive professional touch probes

I had a chance (and a need) to make a quick PCB prototype again, so I've finished my first real-life exercise with my new CNC3020(T).

I made two mistakes:

• as I was in hurry, I did not use enough measurement points for the levelling. A small extra copper remained at two places, hopefully it won't need too much work to get rid of it. The time saved on the levelling will be spent twice on the post-processing... lesson learned... again...
• I made an unintended short during the levelling and had to reset the controller. Working coordinates were re-defined manually, causing a small shift between the two sides. Once I'll have my new controller ready, this should not happen again.

Beside these issues, the result still looks amazing.
Here are some pictures for reference:

isolation:
CNC3020T PCB isolation routing – 00:17
— András Kabai

drilling:
CNC3020T PCB drilling – 00:42
— András Kabai

Conclusion: CNC2030T is an affordable CNC machine which can be easily used for precise PCB prototyping.
Btw, this was my conclusion for my previous CNC2418 as well. Both of them proved their capabilities. CNC3020T is just better, more robust and good for more stuff.

To be honest, if one buys a CNC from the super cheap 2418 category and the main goals is PCB milling/drilling, then I do not see any reason to spend money and time on upgrades, as the base machine is good for the job.

@andrew oh, for those who are interested, flatcam settings were the followings:

• tool dia: 0.1176326981
• passes: 2
• overlap: 0.15
• cut z: -0.05
• feed rate: 500
• spindle: 300 (0-1000 range, but in fact as the pwm signal is inverted now, it is equivalent with 700)

the engraving tip was 2001 (20degree, 0.1mm end)

quick update, just managed to make some test milling.
pro tip: always check your tip before milling I had to trash the one I used for the first two, as its end was chipped

traces are 6 mil, the footprint is tqfp100 p0.5, built in from kicad.
some of the the standalone traces are 6 mil with 6 mil clearance, their open end came up, but otherwise it looks ok.

other 6 mil traces that are connected to pads are actually ok.

6mil traces where the clearance is 4 mil only were not millet at all, due to the isolation routing path made by flatcam.

overall, I'm happy with it.

I've also ordered a dial indicator measurement tool, I'll report the backlash and other measured precision details when it arrives.

some pics:
the control box is open and it has an additional external grbl controller now, I'm working on a proper electronics.

@niallain it is 3020T which uses trapezoidal screws. "Z" uses ball screws.
you can check the "official" technical details on the item's specification (scroll down to the description then click on the "specification"):

...
Driving units X axis: 1204 trapezoidal screws
Driving units Y axis: 1204 trapezoidal screws
Driving units Z axis: 1204 trapezoidal screws
...
Repeat accuracy: 0.05mm
...
Spindle precision: radial beat acuities 0.03 mm
...

Note that none of these parameters above are confirmed. To be honest I don't have the right measurement tools for that, but the fine trace PCB samples will prove it, or not

@NeverDie it is a knob for manual positioning. the whole assembly and machine is very massive and stable, all metal parts do matter a lot.

@mlei30 This was my choice:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-Router-3020T-3-AXIS-USB-Graviermaschine-GraviergeräT-FräSmaschine/313030564524
It already arrived and I started to play with it.
I decided not use its Chinese controller software or Mach3 with parallel port connection, so it needs some upgrade before I can make the first tests with it.
There are tons of upgrade options to make it work with open source stuff. I almost ordered a TinyGv2 controller, but it turned out, that that CNC can be GRBL controlled over the parallel port. In such case,
original stepper and spindle drivers can be used as well.

The problem is, that the research I found behind this was misleading and it contains inaccurate / improper details (or at least not exactly applicable to my HW version), so I had to re-execute the reverse engineering.

I'm about to finish it. At the moment I can control everything on the CNC from GRBL. Now I need to calibrate it and make the solution "solid/proper". I have hard time finding free time for this, but I hope that first test runs will be done soon.

I'll be back with the results soon (and I'm also planning to write a blogpost on the details later).

@NeverDie sure, you will hear more about my new gear
Considering the shipping time and my availability, this should happen around late August or early September!