Electrochemical conversion of PCB milling machine into a 3-axis CNC

Abstract

In the fast-growing technological world that we live in today, out-of-date embedded technologies are now replaced with compact, more powerful and energy efficient electronic hardware that ensures safer use, flexible productivity, ease of maintenance and more autonomy. In many cases the associated mechanical hardware and components are perfectly functional, nonetheless incompatible, and oftentimes costlier to upgrade. This was the case for the decommissioned LPKF ProtoMatS100 circuit board plotter (i.e., PCB printer) housed in the electronics lab at the University of Central Oklahoma. All attempts to restore the device were unsuccessful due to the higher cost of repair hence the machine was left unused. The subject of the current research is the transformation of the decommissioned PCB printer to a fully operational 3- Axis CNC milling router for machining small mechanical devices. To achieve this objective, we devised and implemented an in-house system control hardware and software that employs the original power distributor, newer stepper and DC motor drives, a spindle, an AVR Microcontroller, and a custom-built user-friendly control interface. The upgrades are currently on schedule and the project completion date is set for the spring 2023. The reinvented CNC milling router is expected to machine soft materials with accuracy comparable to modern CNC milling machines.