Board Routing
The circuit board files were created using the free version of Eagle Cad. You can use these files. For board routing you will need 3 files with the .ger extension: toplayer, bottom layer, board outline and drills.xln.
To route the board you will use the LPKF. Please read the tutorial all the way thru before you start. This board has plated thru hole vias so you will also need to you the plating tank. Please read the tutorial for this equipment as well before starting the project. The process from start to finish will take you 4 hours on a good day and the board is small so you might as well make several copies at once.
Use the computer next to the LPKF and pull up the SOP on one screen and the LPKF software on the other. Follow the instructions carefully and choose the job type: double_sided_GalvonicTHP
At this time, turn on the plating tank so it can be at the proper temperature when you are ready to use it. The switch is on the right hand side of the machine near the bottom.
I suggest making several copies. To do this, once your design is imported into the software, right click on the design and click placement. Then fill in the field for how many copies you want. If you fill in the X field it will place the copies of the design in the X direction on the substrate. If you fill in the Y field it will place them in the Y direction.
The software will have the LPKF drill all the holes, vias, and fiducials and then it will stop and tell you to pull the substrate off and start the plating process.
Skip to the plating process section of this wiki and then return to this step.
After the plating is complete try to place the board back onto the base of the LPKF in nearly the same position as it was before. The LPKF will try to find the fiducials automatically…..it may be successful it may not. After it has tried several times it will ask you to find it manually. Use the arrow buttons on the screen in the top left to move the camera around until it finds the fiducial. If you need help you can use the circle with the arrows template that is actually for the A406 and is usually near that machine or on top of the drill bits. Once all the fiducials are found the LPKF will route the rest of the board. It starts will the bottom layer first, then it will ask you to flip it. When you flip it you will have to locate the fiducials again and then it will route the top of the board and cut out the board outlines.
This process is the most time consuming of the entire project. Routing the board and plating the holes takes approximately 4 hours total. You will need to be in the lab for the entire time.
The next step is testing the completed board for continuity. Go to the next step for information on how to do this.