Printed circuit board milling

<p>Printed circuit board milling (also: isolation milling) is the <a href="/facts/Milling_(machining)/PVXTgNyz">milling</a> process used for removing areas of <a href="/facts/Copper/I8PEE8oX">copper</a> from a sheet of <a href="/facts/Printed_circuit_board/muSR2p43">printed circuit board</a> (PCB) material to recreate the pads, <a href="/facts/Signal_trace/zDcDsuTq">signal traces</a> and structures according to patterns from a digital circuit board plan known as a <i>layout file</i>. Similar to the more common and well known chemical PCB <a href="/facts/Industrial_etching/N9QgvCPt">etch</a> process, the PCB milling process is subtractive: material is removed to create the electrical isolation and <a href="/facts/Ground_plane/quwvjQl0">ground planes</a> required. However, unlike the chemical etch process, PCB milling is typically a non-chemical process and as such it can be completed in a typical office or lab environment without exposure to hazardous chemicals. High quality circuit boards can be produced using either process. In the case of PCB milling, the quality of a circuit board is chiefly determined by the system's true, or weighted, milling accuracy and control as well as the condition (sharpness, temper) of the milling bits and their respective feed/rotational speeds. By contrast, in the chemical etch process, the quality of a circuit board depends on the accuracy and/or quality of the mask used to protect the copper from the chemicals and the state of the etching chemicals.
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Printed circuit board milling open-in-new

Printed circuit board milling