Cutting PCBs

[Shax]

Don't mess about with anything that will create dust.... Get an electric water cooled Diamond tile saw. I have a Plasplugs saw that I bought 7 years ago. Cuts PERFECT straight edges with ZERO dust. The latest version retails at £29.95 (UK)..

 

[Peter_wadley]

I just use plain old tin snipes.. works fine!

 

[ljcox]

I just use plain old tin snipes.. works fine!

Thanks for the suggestion, but did you read my initial post?

The PCB is 300 x 300 mm and I think it is too big for tin snips.

I've had difficulties in the past cutting large sheets of aluminium etc. with tin snips. I find I have to bend it as I cut which you can't do with a PCB.

Your comments on this will be appreciated.

 

[ljcox]

Don't mess about with anything that will create dust.... Get an electric water cooled Diamond tile saw. I have a Plasplugs saw that I bought 7 years ago. Cuts PERFECT straight edges with ZERO dust. The latest version retails at £29.95 (UK)..

Thanks, that sounds like a good option, but it will be a bit expensive for one PCB.

I normally only need to cut smaller PBCs which I do with a hacksaw (wearing a dust mask) and as some people have suggested, it can be done with tin snips - which I had not thought of.

 

[TekNoir]

I would certainly prefer to use a guillotine if I had one. But I don't know if I can justify the cost just to cut a few PCBs. However, I'll find out how much they cost before making a final decision.

Thanks for the comments.

I don't know about in Australia, but here I have seen them for as low as 20$ US new in office supply stores. I've seen them cheaper than that on eBay (but pay attention to the shipping charges) or on sale open box at hobby or craft stores.

This is the one that I have: Link

At the time that I purchased it, Office Depot was having a sale and it was marked down to 40$. I chose this particular cutter over other cheaper models because of its increased paper handling abilities. "Durable self-sharpening, stainless steel blade cuts through up to 15 sheets cleanly." Most others for cheaper listed only 5 or 10 sheets. Since I'm cutting boards, I thought it might make a difference. Honestly, I have no idea. The other consideration was the nifty laser sight.

I can't tell that my blade has dulled any. I don't make a huge amount of boards, either, so that probably makes a difference in blade longevity. Mostly just VHF/UHF projects or things that I'll be giving to someone else. Nearly everything else I do point-to-point on perfboard.

 

[ljcox]

Thanks TekNoir,
There is one of those (without the laser sight) where I worked recently. I may be able to buy one second hand.

Have you tried cutting a large PCB on it, mine is 300 x 300 mm (about 11 3/4 inches)?

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Errr i use a hacksaw and a fair bit of dust is produced... how bad is that? should i just grab a cheap respiration mask? I wanst sure if this is going to give me lung cancer when im 30

 

[TekNoir]

Have you tried cutting a large PCB on it, mine is 300 x 300 mm (about 11 3/4 inches)?

I've cut 1/32" thick paper phenolic 12" x 18" (304.8 x 457.2 mm) board no problem. I've never cut larger than a 4" x 6" FR4 (1/48" or 1/64" thick) board. It does leave burrs along the edge of the copper at times, but it's quite easy to fix up with a small file. I would assume that most methods leave burrs, though.

When I started using the transfer method for making PCBs, I liked the thinner boards better because they went through my laminator better and were easier to cut with lineman shears. I purchased a large bulk of 4" x 6" FR4 (at 1/48" and 1/64" thick) and still have plenty, so I've never had the opportunity to cut anything larger until I started using the paper phenolic boards. The paper phenolic isn't as strong as the FR4, but was made specifically for classroom use and, furthermore, ease of cutting. It can be cut using a large pair of scissors quite easily. Just watch out for humidity when using the paper phenolic boards as it tends to make them delaminate.

I originally got the idea of using a guillotine cutter from a website giving instructions on how to "make your own PCBs at home". I cannot find the site now. If I remember correctly, they were using 1/32" FR4 in 8" x 12" sheets.

I don't see why anyone would have problems cutting anything up to the width of the board. I would think board thickness and material would be a bigger consideration. I, personally, wouldn't cut anything over 1/32" thick, especially FR4. Honestly, I'm just guessing and perhaps someone else has more experience with cutting something bigger/thicker.

I cannot comment on how long the blade will hold up. Mine seems to be doing fine, but I don't use it often, either. Only a couple times a month. I build everything else on perfboard.

For 40$ US, it was well worth the investment for me and does everything that I currently need. A more expensive shear would work better (and probably be a sound future-proof investment), especially for the thicker boards made of FR4. If you're using thinner boards or paper phenolic, then a cheap paper trimmer might be all you need.

 

[TekNoir]

I've never tried it, but I've read in a few places where you could use a glass cutter to score deeply along both sides of the board and snap your PCBs apart.

I'm curious about it.

 

[HarveyH42]

I've used/abused my paper cutter for years on a variety of materials, even sheet metal, and still cuts photograph paper just like it was new. I've had it 5-6 years now. I have some perfboard that chips on the edges, kind of brittle, so need to use the hacksaw. A papercutter isn't a bad investment, it's not a dedicated tool. I origonally got it to cut photos and business cards, and a few other home printshop projects before I started doing PCBs.

 

[k7elp60]

That sounds like a good idea. I could then cut it on the Triton.

Do you mean that you used a carbide tipped wood saw blade? Or some other type of blade?

I took a photo of the Triton in the Jigsaw/Router mode but without the Jigsaw or router mounted.

For anyone that is interested & has not seen a Triton, I also took photos of it in some of its other modes.

Photo 2 shows the bench saw mode.

Photo 3 shows the cross cut saw mode, but I oriented the saw incorrectly. It should have been turned 180 degrees.

Photo 4 shows the planer mode.

It has adjustable mounting plates for a variety of comercially available power tools.

There is also an extension table that can be set up for sawing large sheets of chipboard, plywood, etc. but I need the car out of the garage to set it up.

It only takes 2 ~ 3 minutes to change modes.

There is also a vacuum dust extractor available - it uses a standard vacuum cleaner.

EDIT. I've had problems attaching the photos - I'll try again later.

Ues I have used a wood blade designed for cabinetry. The blade cuts wood so smooth that very little sanding is needed. I have been able to cut boards as small as 1" wide, with care of course. I always ran the PCB thru slow and with great care. I have been using the same blade to cut plexiglass(a trade name for plastic) I have been using red and green for lenses for LED displays. I leave the paper on, cut it slow and then strip of the paper. Here again some of my lenses are abourt 1" wide.

 

[ljcox]

Errr i use a hacksaw and a fair bit of dust is produced... how bad is that? should i just grab a cheap respiration mask? I wanst sure if this is going to give me lung cancer when im 30

Mike,
You should use a good quality dust mask for any job that produces dust.

Bunnings sell masks of various grades according to the type of dust.

You really don't need fibre glass dust (or any other type of dust) in your lungs!!!

 

[ljcox]

Thanks for all of the advice.