3D CAD/CAM, 3D printing, routing and PCB production Lecture at Nordic VUSHF Meeting June 15. 2019 LB8X Tom Twist [email protected] Agenda ● 3D modeling (CAD). ● Getting 3D models from Internet. ● Slicing for 3D printing, 3D printers, filament types. ● CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), G-code. ● PCB design. ● PCB production. 3D modeling programs ● SketchUp (Trimble) ● Tinkercad (Autodesk) Free, Web based ● DesignSpark Mechanical (RS) Free ● SolidWorks (Dassault Systèmes) ● Inventor (Autodesk) ● Fusion 360 (Autodesk) Free for Hobbyists, students and startup companies ● Blender (Open source) Free form modeling ● Meshmixer (Autodesk) Free ● FreeCAD (Open source) ● OpenSCAD (Open source) Script based “programming” SketchUp ● Easy to get started ● Limited free version, no extensions ● Make and Pro available at cost ● Windows and MacOS ● No personal experience ● https://www.sketchup.com Tinkercad ● Web based ● Free ● Limited ● No personal experience ● https://www.tinkercad.com Designspark Mechanical ● Free ● Integrates with RS-online webshop ● Based on SpaceClaim, from ANSYS ● Limited: No export, no plugins ● No threads, no 2D drawing creation, but available at high cost ● IGES and STEP import/export at high cost ● No personal experience ● https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software SolidWorks ● Industry standard ● Many learning resources ● Expensive, but free for students ● Heavy on system resources (in my experience) ● Needs third party CAM plugin ● Windows only ● https://www.solidworks.com Inventor ● Industry standard, #2 ? ● Expensive ● Windows only ● No personal experience ● https://www.autodesk.com/products/inventor Fusion 360 ● New kid on the block ● Developed from scratch, based on experiences from Inventor and more ● Many learning resources ● Free for hobbyists, students and startup companies with revenues less than US$ 100 000 ● Innovative combination of modeling and assembly ● Integration with Eagle PCB design. Sheet metal bending ● Includes 5-axis CAM, simulation and animation ● Windows and MacOS ● Requires registration and login ● https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360 Meshmixer ● Free ● "Swiss Army Knife" for 3D meshes ● Windows and MacOS ● No personal experience ● http://www.meshmixer.com Blender ● Free form design, sculpting ● Open source = free ● Multi platform ● No personal experience ● https://www.blender.org FreeCAD ● 3d solid modeling ● Open source = free ● Multiple Workbenches for different tasks ● Parts modeling, analysis, simulation ● Active development team ● Very active user forum ● Multi platform ● Limited personal experience ● https://www.freecadweb.org OpenSCAD ● Script-only based modeller ● Supports parameters, modules and libraries ● Good documentation ● Can be used to make very complex designs, e.g. Mendel 90 3D printer ● Easy to make quick models ● Mostly popular with programmers ● Exports STL files for 3D printing ● Multi platform ● https://www.openscad.org Why Fusion 360 ● Modern, cloud based, but works offline. ● Full parametric 3d solid modeling ● Moderate on system demands ● Extensive, features being added all the time. ● Nice conditions for hobbyists, students and startups ● Steep learning curve at first, but few limitations. ● Can exchange design data with many different systems ● Can import STL files, convert them to solids, modify them and combine with 3D model ● Scripting, in Python and C++ ● Can be used for most modeling and drawing tasks ● Massive online support on YouTube and forums ● Popular with makers, since many competitors have changed their conditions Fusion 360 resources ● Lars Christensen, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/cadcamstuff/videos ● Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners— Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bc9c3S12g ● Paul McWhorter, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/mcwhorpj/videos ● NYC CNC, YouTube (mechanical) Fusion 360 Friday https://www.youtube.com/playlist Fusion 360 Demo ● Live demo 3D models on Internet ● Thingiverse https://www.thingiverse.com Mostly STL files, but also for modeling ● GrabCAD https://grabcad.com Both 3D models and STLs ● Google 3d models and STL files Thingiverse example ● https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2030237 Some 3D printer brands ● Creality ● Flashforge (Clas Ohlson) ● Prusa ● Ultimaker ● Wanhao Creality Ender 3 ● Good starter printer, but comes as a kit ● About 1 hour assembly time ● Affordable, current price in Norway: NOK 2595,- ● Machine size 440 x 410 x 465 mm, ~ 7 kg ● Printing volume 220 x 220 x 250 mm ● Nozzle diameter 0.4 mm ● Max nozzle temp 255 °C, max hot bed temp 110 °C ● Can print most filament types ● USB or µSD card Creality Ender 3 Filament types ● Diameter 1.75 mm (most common) and 2.85 mm Normal materials: ● PLA (PolyLactic Acid) Most common ● ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) Somewhat difficult to print ● PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified) Upcoming, easy to print ● ASA (Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) UV resistent, outdoor usage moderately easy to print Special filament types ● Flexible ● Carbon fiber reinforced ● Magnetic ● Conductive ● Fluorescent ● Glow in the dark ● Color changing ● Metal particles ● Wood fibers ● Clay/ceramic ● Wax (lost wax casting) 3D printer slicers ● Cura (Ultimaker) Free https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-cura-software ● Slic3r (Open source) https://slic3r.org ● Simplify3D (commercial) https://www.simplify3d.com ● Prusa has it’s own version of Slic3r https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/ Cura slicer PCB Design software - EDA ● EDA = Electronic Design Automation ● KiCad (Open source) ● Eagle (Autodesk) Free + subscriptions ● Fritzing (Open source) ● Designspark PCB (RS) Free ● EasyEDA Web based, Free + subscriptions KiCad ● Schematic capture, PCB layout/routing, Gerber viewer ● Open source = free ● Multi platform ● Design rules check, autorouter ● Many libraries available ● Can import libraries from Eagle and other EDAs ● Python scripting ● No personal experience ● http://www.kicad-pcb.org Eagle PCB design ● Schematic capture, PCB layout/routing and CAM generation ● Free for hobbyist, limited to 80cm², 2 layers ● Subscription: Standard 160cm², 4 layers, Premium unlimited area, 16 layers ● Design rules and decent autorouter ● Large libraries, also from 3rd parties ● Integration with Fusion 360 ● Requires registration and login ● https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle Fritzing ● Schematic capture, PCB layout and breadboard layout ● Open source = free ● Multi platform ● Quite limited, awful to make components ● Good to document breadboard constructions ● http://fritzing.org/home/ Designspark PCB ● Schematic capture, PCB layout/routing and Gerber generation ● 1 m² area, 32 layers ● Integrates with RS-online webshop ● No personal experience ● https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/pcb-software EasyEDA ● Web based ● Free + subscriptions ● Local version available ● No personal experience ● https://easyeda.com Why Eagle? ● I have used Eagle since before 2000, both professional and for hobby ● Preferred tool among hobbyists/makers ● Easy to use, once mastered ● Good library support, easy to define new components ● Good DRC (design rules check) and autorouting ● Programmable/extensible with SCR and ULP ● SCR = Script, ULP = User Language Program ● Today I would probably choose KiCAD or Designspark PCB Eagle demo ● Demo Gerber code - Excellon ● Gerber code was control code for photo plotters ● Now industry standard ● Excellon is drilling code ● Tool tables for drilling PCB prototyping with CNC ● Isolation routing ● Drilling ● Slot milling ● Contour milling Isolation routing Issues with PCB CNC routing ● Flatness of PCB ● Must use auto leveling to achieve acceptable results ● Auto probing the PCB, and applying the height map to correct the G-code PCB CAM programs ● FlatCAM (Open source) http://flatcam.org ● Pcb-gcode (plug-in for Eagle) free ● ChiliPeppr (Web based) free Hobbyist PCB methods - etching ● Tape or marker pen method ● UV transfer method from film ● Laser printer transfer method (direct transfer) ● Spray paint + laser exposure Etching methods: ● Ferric chloride (messy) ● Sodium or ammonium persulphate ● Hydrogen peroxide + Chloric acid (more dangerous) PCB - Non etching methods ● Removal of copper with knife and solder iron ● Dremel milling (by hand) ● CNC milling and drilling ● CNC + EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) https://hackaday.com/2019/05/13/prototyping-pcbs-with-electrical-discharge-machining/ ● Direct laser cutting? PCB manufacturers ● JLCPCB https://jlcpcb.com ● Seeed Studio https://www.seeedstudio.io/fusion_pcb.html ● PCBWay https://www.pcbway.com ● OSHPARK https://oshpark.com ● Micron-20 Ltd (Bulgaria) https://micron20.com/en .