pCarve 2.0 - pcb engraver, enclosures, laser etching and more

[Dragos]

Hello, every one. I should introduce my self first My name is Dragos, i'm 30 years old, and i'm from Romania. I'm an electronics engineer.

About 2 years ago I woke up at 6 (instead of 7) cause my girlfriends birthday was coming up and I wanted to make for her a small heart shaped circuit that lights up at night. She doesn’t like the dark and wanted a small night lamp. Well I’ve built the circuit with the classic toner transfer technique and it was a mess. I’ve never got good results with toner but this was one of those days that it didn’t want to work at all. And trying to cut a heart shape out of pcb by hand didnt turn out as good as i was imagining it. So out of frustration I’ve decided to build my own cnc machine, designed for rapid pcb etching, cutting, I love the silkscreen on top so I wanted that too, makes life so much easier when you’re assembling your circuit to see the components instead of having to go back and forth to the computer for details. I really hate loud repeating noises, hate having to deal with chemicals and never found good enough paper for toner transfer. And if all this wasn’t enough motivation I especially hate drilling holes in pcbs. It’s a major pain, I hate that dust, that smell and it takes a lot of time, and it breaks a lot of drill bits. Clumsy me.
So pCarve 1.0 took birth. It was made from 10 mm thick transparent acrylic, it was kinda sloppy but it did the job. I just had to run the gcode and watch it “dance” and finish my pcb. Few things in life I enjoy more than watching my machine carving my circuit.
I wasn’t really satisfied, I knew I could improve it. So pCarve 2.0 took birth. It’s made from polyamide, it has an work area of 285 x 200 x 40 mm height. It’s fast, accurate and best of all it’s silent. At least compared to the rest of the cncs I’ve seen or worked with.
I’m using t2.5 belt with steel insertion for the X and Y axes, trapeze screw for the Z. it has an er11 collet chuck, it runs in 12 mm linear rails. The machine is controlled by grbl on an arudino nano. It has drv8825 drivers, the motor is a brushless motor that spins a precision ground shank. The start stop and speed of the motor is controlled by grbl as well.
Here are some picture with the machine:
http://s32.postimg.org/9nb8gsi9x/IMAG0928.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/ndeyh2k5h/IMAG0929.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/pl661p8cl/IMAG0930.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/tqqpyh1tx/IMAG0931.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/3nsja93t1/IMAG0932.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/cck9vf8ud/IMAG0933.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/hqlhweosl/375ac72c_1462_4179_9461_fb85ad93c495.jpg

Here is a small solder station enclosure I’ve made with the machine:
http://s32.postimg.org/knf9uqj5x/IMAG0934.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/r2nhiw4n9/IMAG0935.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/ej1jmmv7p/IMAG0936.jpg

Here are some videos with it:

https://youtu.be/tJZHVOiri-c
https://youtu.be/W1e188_DKwo

http://s32.postimg.org/cv4zhw96t/placute_gata.jpg
http://s32.postimg.org/tmdwhjk3p/Untitled.png

it can also hold an laser engraver, and also has a pen holder. I’m planning on adding a 3d printer extruder, but I’m not sure yet because of the small working height.

Don’t know what else to say about it here. If you guys have any questions, ask
I’d like to sell kits or complete machines. So if anyone is interested, pm me.
Best regards
Dragos