Instructions for making our

TinyFABISB using ROLAND MODELA

(MDX-50) milling machine
FABLAB BRIGHTON 2018

1. Circuit design - creating RML files 2

2. Setting up MDX-50 Machine 5

Fix board 5
Setup machine 6
To select the tool 6
Zero X and Y 6
Set Z origin 7
Testing depth of cut 9
Safer to leave spindle running on Z up in case of user error
9

Instructions for changing the tool in the machine 10

3. (FabModules) Prep file for traces milling 10

4. Set up machine to cut out board outline 17

5. (FabModules) Prep file for cutting outline 18

Success! 18

6. Cleaning up the board 19

1. Circuit design - creating RML files

You can do all this on your own computer - you don’t have to use the machine computer.

You will need to create two separate RML files, one for the TRACES, one for the OUTLINE.
This is because they will require different cutters and slightly different settings. Traces is
what we will mill out for our circuit, then outline is what will happen last to cut the board out
from the board material.

Create/import your TRACES or OUTLINE in photoshop/gimp/etc. One good way to do this is

to have a single illustrator file with two layers, one for TRACES, one for OUTLINE. Then you
can simply save out each layer in turn as a separate .png file (with a high resolution of 1000
dpi).

Before saving, check that your images are the correct size for your circuit board (in mm, not
dpi).

Note: whatever is white will stay, black will be machined. You may need to invert out image
to get the white lines and black background.

I.e. White: material left behind will be the conductive copper (tracks)
Black: will be the space around traces, some of this will be removed (not all).

(So for example, your board outline design should look like a black line around a white box)

Note: you should include your own logo in the gap!

You can orient the circuit board based on the orientation you want to cut it on the mill,
landscape or portrait.

Illustrator note, export as, on quality, select other and manual 1000 dpi

Save as YOURNAME traces and outline.png

Then ALSO save as YOURNAMEtraces.png
Then ALSO save as YOURNAMEoutline.png

Then goto fabmodules.org and use the settings as outlined below. Fabmodules can be used
to control a range of machines independently from the machine’s own software.

Input format: PNG (do the YOURNAMEtraces.png first, then the YOURNAMEoutline.png).
Make sure you INVERT your traces image, so that the space around your traces is BLACK,
and the TRACES are WHITE. Here is what the traces should look like, this is the board
designed by our instructor Luiz.
Output format: select Roland mill (.rml) (note MDX40 is similar to our machine and we can
use this)

Process: PCB traces (1/64) which is about 0.4 mm (so 1/32 is about 0.8mm)

Input the settings as outlined below.

Note that the zjog is the safe travelling distances above the board.

Note also, that if in doubt, it’s best to mill the air above the board than to mill too far down. Or
you can always use soft foam to try it out.

……………………….perhaps use image for this….

Speed 4mm/s
x=y=z=0
xhome=yhome=zhome=0, or you can make zhome=2 if you want it to stop just above the
piece.

zjog=2 (zjog is the safe travelling distance above the board)

Cut depth=0.1mm
Tool diameter=0.4mm (1/64”)
Num of offsets=2 (-1=remove all..up to 4...this is like ‘padding’ like on html)...1=only 1 milled
layer around your trace 4=4 milled layers around your traces.
Offset overlap=50% (is overlap between the offsets from the
Path error=1.1pixels
Image threshold=0.5
…………………..
Calculate the tool path. Check this by zooming, rotating, panning (instructions for doing
these things are at the top of the screen). Save this configuration as YOURNAMEtrace.rml.
Then do the same for the outline using your YOURNAMEoutline.png, but for the option
PROCESS, use PCB outline (1/32) which is about 0.8 mm.

Terms:
Stock thickness - thickness of the material e.g. 1.7mm
Cut depth - the depth the tool will cut in one go. E.g. 0.6 will take 3 passes to cut 1.7mm
2. Setting up MDX-50 Machine

Fix board

Wash hands, Wash Board.

Put the double sided tape on the back of your board, making sure that it doesn’t overlap and
try not to touch the sticky bit.

Then stick your board onto the wax spacer (without the wax spacer the mill won’t reach the
board as it’s too high). Overlap the board very slightly with the edge of the wax block to allow
us to remove it afterwards.

Clean Board again incase of residue.

Setup machine

To select the tool

Know what tool is in what cartridge (1-6).

Press MENU until you reach the TOOL menu, then use the jogwheel to select tool the tool
you want (1 or 2 typically). Press ENTER when selected.

At last check, TOOL 1 was for outline, with D=1mm, and TOOL 2, D=0.4mm tool for cutting
traces) in this case. If in doubt, check by measuring, or asking.

Tool 2 first (trace), Then tool 1 (outline)

NOTE: we should keep a little table on the desktop/link/label on machine showing what tool
is in what slot.

Zero X and Y
Origin is front left of the cutting bed.
Move X and Y with spin knob.
Set origin with: origin + axis
Allow some space around the circuit board - don’t set 0,0 to be right in the corner of the
copper board.

Press MENU until you reach the user menu, then press X/Y/Z to get the tool closer to the
board (for easy sighting), then use the jogwheel to move the tool closer. You can press
RATE to move more slowly/quickly to get the tool quite close to the board.

Then press X, use the jogwheel to move it to where you want your X0 to be, then press and
hold ORIGIN to set this as your X0 origin value.

Then do the same for Y.

Note: you would do the same with Z, if we didn’t have a Z0 sense tool. Note that it looks like
a gold stethoscope and can be plugged into the Z0 sensor/rotary connector at the back of
the machine. NOTE: when setting Z manually, we have found that setting z0 as approx
0.03mm below the actual surface of the board works well.

Set Z origin
Get out the Z0 sense tool. Clean Z0 Tool

Remove rubber cover on socket. Plug into socket, with white arrow facing forward.

Place puck (black side down) on center of copper board.

Careful:
 1. When you close lid and press resume, the table will move forward, so be aware
of how the cable will move or snag (the tool will raise first)
2. Then the tool will return to where it last as - so be careful the cable is not in the
way

Move the table to place the tool over the middle of the puck

Press Z0 SENSE , then ENTER to confirm

Pull collar out on plug to remove, then replace cap.

Careful: Your hand will be very close to the tool when you do this!

Testing depth of cut

Note: to test the depth of the cut, you can turn spindle on/off, by pressing SPINDLE and
hold. You can then rotate the jogwheel to increase the spindle speed. Then you can press Z
and move this down slowly with a rate of x10 onto the board.

Safer to leave spindle running on Z up in case of user error

If you want to inspect the piece, Press MENU until you

reach the move menu, then go to VIEW this can be
used to move the table close to the front.

If you want to, return the tool to the user XY position:

Press MENU, the USER XY.
Cycle through the MENU button until you get to the MOVE menu, then go to USER XY menu
and press ENTER.

NOTE: the spindle speed for cutting PCB traces and outlines should always be between
12,000-13,000 RPM. THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Instructions for changing the tool in the machine

For full instructions on measuring and changing the tool see Des’s page:
http://fab.academany.org/2018/labs/fablabbrighton/students/derek-covill/w10.html

3. (FabModules) Prep file for traces milling

In Eagle, ​in layers menu in the top toolbar, select only the top layer, pads and vias
(traces only) .
 ● then export as a png (file -- export -- image)
● settings should be MONOCHROME and 500 DPI - this will export a image
with white traces.
● Make sure the color mode is set to greyscale: image > mode > greyscale
● Remember: the Modela cuts out the DARK and leaves white!

In Adobe Photoshop, open the .png files separately. Then create a new photoshop file and
copy and paste the .png files into separate layers. If the boundary is hard to distinguish from
the edge of the canvas, you can change the canvas size to be bigger than the images
(Image > Canvas Size).

Note the size of your traces .png file (in pixels, e.g mine today was 1552 x 1660 pixels). Use
the rectangle tool (shortcut = U) and create a rectangle that size. Use the move tool (shortcut
= V) to position it over the traces. Note that you also want the fill to be transparent, and the
line to be 40 pixels wide as shown below. Note that the fab tutorial suggested 20 pixels wide,
but we found that with our wider cutter for the outline (1.0mm diameter), this sometimes
wouldn’t generate the g-code, so a wider line of 40 pixels works better.

One good reason to use Photoshop or GIMP for this process is that you can then add in a
logo to your board. A simple way to do this is to create a new layer with your logo on it, and
put this on top of your traces layer. Here we show that process just before saving each png
file.
Then it is important to crop the image (crop tool shortcut = C), otherwise the origin on your
milling machine will be the bottom left of the CANVAS, NOT the bottom left of the OUTLINE.

Hit enter when it’s cropped.

Then you can show each layer in turn and to save each layer as a separate .png file.

Then save the .psd file for your records...it’s a useful file as it contains both both your traces
and outlines.
Then goto fabmodules.org and load the traces.png file.
Note​, if using a 0.3mm cutter for traces, the speed (output section) should be changed from
4mm/s to 3mm/s. This is because this is a smaller cutter and the machine needs to go
slower!!!
Do note: zhome (mm): ​2
(This number Always above 0)
Number of Offsets: “4”, if you’ve never soldered. “2”, if you’re comfortable.
Once you hit Calculate, the image above should be displayed.
Save​ if you’re satisfied with the tracing result.
By this point you should have an .RML file

Then open VPanel for MDX-50 software.

Verify if the machine is ready, the software will tell you.

Check if the XYZ are the same as the machine. (Eyeball it)

Loading your file: Click on the CUT button (middle button at 45deg). The job menu will
appear, DELETE ALL of these, and click ADD, then select your .rml file as saved earlier.

Then click on OUTPUT to start the job.

Caution: Now it will start milling!

Make sure you check the machine is doing what you want EARLY ON! If there’s a problem,
lift the handle (best), or press the red emergency button (next best) to stop the machining.

Note: the OVERRIDE button can be used to change the speed (up or down) during the
milling process.
4. Set up machine to cut out board outline

Select outline cutting tool.

Tool 1 on our machine:

Send to User Origin

5. (FabModules) Prep file for cutting outline

Tool diameter: 1mm

Cut depth: 1.7mm (assuming material thickness of 1.6mm)

Tip: If you right click and drag, you can see a 3D version of the cut

Follow same steps as loading <YOURNAME>traces.png but with <YOURNAME>outline.png

into Vpanel: See ​3. Prep file for cutting traces

Success!
Trace cutting
Board Cutting

<Add image of each person’s board>

6. Cleaning up the board
Sand down the rough edge of the board

Clean the top of the board with soap and thin wire-wool (pressure is important here, we don’t
want to remove traces)
Make it shiny :-D