PCB-Drill with Dremel & 3D-Printer

thingiverse

This is an attempt to put my cheap Prusa i3 clone to the test as a PCB-Drilling machine by attaching a Dremel next to the extruder.\r\nThe plan is to let the printer drill precise holes first and then spray the PCB with photoresist afterwards, using the holes as marks to place the foil with the printout of the PCB in a precise manner.\r\n\r\nI design my PCBs with gEDA/pcb and convert its GCode-export to GCode suitable for 3D-printers using simple perl-scripts I've written for this purpose. You can find them under the thing files.\r\nYou'll likely discover your own way to generate GCode from your preferred PCB-design software. Please share your experiences!\r\n\r\nI'm experimenting with the best drilling-RPMs and vertical traveling speeds to prevent the drill from slipping sideways before sinking into the material.\r\n\r\nBe aware that using this thing may damage or even destroy your 3D-printer, so please be cautious.\r\nAs you can see, I've made some modifications to my printer to make it more robust. Your printer may not have the same level of durability.\r\n\r\nA video showing this in action is available at: https://youtu.be/cp50UJrNE9w\r\n\r\n*UPDATE*\r\nI've made this a customizable thing, but unfortunately, it's not working as expected. I'm still trying to figure out the issue. Please be patient or create your own version using OpenSCAD.