Colinbus Milling Machine Manual

7/14/2019 Colinbus Milling Machine Manual

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Colinbus® PCB milling machines V100301-01 of 46

Manual

Colinbus® PCB milling machine




Table of content 1. General information regarding the machine.................................................................................. 3

1.1 Installing the software............................................................................................................. 4

1.2 First run of ColiDrive................................................................................................................ 5

1.3 ColiLiner/ColiCAM acquiring the license ................................................................................. 6

1.4 Installing the updates.............................................................................................................. 9

2. ColiLiner .......................................................................................................................................... 9

2.1 Layers in ColiLiner.................................................................................................................. 11

2.2 Preparing output in Ultiboard. .............................................................................................. 12

2.3 Preparing output in Eagle...................................................................................................... 13

2.4 How Gerber and Excellon files are built. ............................................................................... 14

2.5 Using ColiLiner....................................................................................................................... 19

2.5.1 Importing the bottom layer........................................................................................... 19

2.5.2 Importing the component layer (Top layer).................................................................. 20

2.5.3 Importing the drill information ..................................................................................... 20

2.5.4 Setting the correct format for the drills ........................................................................ 22

2.5.5 Aligning the drill layers. ................................................................................................. 23

2.5.6 Importing the cutout layer ........................................................................................... 25

2.6 Text on the PCB ..................................................................................................................... 26

2.7 Adjusting the number of passes with the tool around the pads or tracks............................ 27

2.7.1 General remarks ............................................................................................................ 282.8 Contour All Layers ................................................................................................................. 29

2.9 Creating the Board outline .................................................................................................... 30

2.10 Using break out tabs.............................................................................................................. 31

2.11 Exporting files to ColiDrive .................................................................................................... 32

3. ColiDrive........................................................................................................................................ 33

3.1 Basic adjustment of the machine.......................................................................................... 33

3.1.1 General information about the depth adjustment. ...................................................... 33

3.1.2 Placing the tool in the motor......................................................................................... 343.2 Setting the “default zero position” and milling depth .......................................................... 35

3.2.1 Default zero position ..................................................................................................... 35

3.2.2 Adjusting the milling depth ........................................................................................... 37

3.3 Setting the Mirror line........................................................................................................... 38

3.3.1 Software configuration.................................................................................................. 41

4. Information about tools ............................................................................................................... 41

5. Credits........................................................................................................................................... 46




1. General information regarding the machine

Type machine: CPR-xx/PCF/HF or similar

S/N: xxxxxxx

Supplier: Franklin Industries N.V.

Industriepark 622235 Hulshout

Tel. 015/43 10 81

The Colinbus® CPR/PCB/HF machines are specially made for milling and drilling printed circuit boards

(PCB). They have outstanding precision and are equipped with all necessary accessories needed to

quickly and easily produce in-house PCB boards. The machines are intended for professional and

home use.

Technical specifications of CPR-30/PCB/HF:

Software versions (at the time manual was released):

ColiLiner1

ColiDrive: Standard V 3.20 revision 2008/11/20

2

: V3.0.0.34

1

ColiLiner is a PCB CAM (computer aided machining) package. It allows importing the Gerber and excellon data, and con-verts them to the machine language.2

ColiDrive is machine driving module – it is a user interface for the machine.




1.1 Installing the software

First step is to make sure that the PC is connected to the machine with an RS232 cable (DB9 plug).

When this is connected, make sure that you connect the power mains to the machine that corres-

pond to the sticker information. Then switch on the machine with the on/off switch.

The DB25 connector is an I/O (input output) connector that is used to control external devices. Per

example for automatic control of the vacuum cleaner.

Note: In order to control other devices most likely you need extra hardware such as a power switch.

In case that your PC is not equipped with a serial port (COM port). An USB to serial adapter may be

used. Any standard professional USB to serial cable may be used. In case of doubt contact the suppli-

er.

With the machine a CD or an USB key is delivered. Place the disk in the computer, find the install.exe

and run it. Please note that you will need full administrator privileges to install the software.

Note: If you are using Microsoft® Windows® Vista or Microsoft® Windows® 7 you might need to run

the program as administrator. You can do this by right clicking the installer and selecting “Run as

administrator”.

ON/OFF

switch

RS232 serial

communication

DB25-I/O-

connector




Follow the on-screen instructions of the installer. It is advised to install the software in the suggestedpaths (C:\Program Files\). It is also recommended to install the software for all the users.

There may be more programs on the delivered USB/CD. The only mandatory installer is the ColiDrive

as this is the minimum that you need to control the machine. Other software packages like ColiLiner,

ColiCAM, and DeskProto etc… are up to the user to install. It is however recommended to install Coli-

Liner and ColiCAM as these are normally the programs that will be used as CAM packages.

When all the software is installed please start ColiDrive.

1.2 First run of ColiDrive

When starting the ColiDrive for the first time Software will ask you to browse for a file on your instal-

lation media. The so called .dat file will have a format as <serial number of machine>.dat. Select this

file and click OK. If the operation succeeded the program will start and most likely you will have a

working machine. Should you have an error message saying that the copy failed you may install the

file manually following the steps below:

1. Close ColiDrive.

2. Locate the “Data” folder. Depending on the version of the Windows you are using and the

software version you should look in different places.

ColiDrive versions below 3.0.0.62

1.1 C:\Program Files\Colinbus\ColiDrive*\Data. The “*” character represents any other cha-

racters. (Install folder may be ColiDrive, ColiDriveV2, ColiDriveV3 etc.)

All other versions:

For Windows XP

1.2 copy Colinbus.dat C:\Documents And Settings\[your user name]\Application Da-

ta\Colinbus\ColiDrive\Data\

For Windows Vista or Windows 7

1.3 Copy Colinbus.dat C:\Users\[your user name]\AppData \Roaming

\Colinbus\ColiDrive\Data.

3. In the opened you can find the Colinbus.dat file. Rename this file into _colinbus.dat.




4. Copy the .dat file on your memory stick that you have received from Colinbus. It’s called

<number>.dat. The <number> is the serial number of your machine. You can find this num-

ber on the sticker next to the power plug on the machine. Copy this file in Data folder.

5. Rename it to Colinbus.dat.

After this process you might get a question requesting you to make a reference run. Answer to this

question “Yes”. Machine should make a reference run.

Note: if the machine makes a reference run when switched on you will not get the above mentioned

question.

If you do not have any control over the machine or you get a message: “ Controller could not be

found on any computer ports” follow the following steps:

Close ColiDrive

Switch the machine off.

Make sure that the serial cable between the PC and machine is properly connected and that it is notlonger than 2 – 3 m.

Switch the machine on.

Make sure that the controller started up (red led on the side is lit).

Start ColiDrive

If you still get the same error try re-setting the machine by using the re-set button. Re- set button

can be found in the menu bar on the top of the screen.

If the error persists then please go to SetupMachine properties and under the tab “machine” take

a screenshot and send it back to your supplier together with the copy of the .dat file that is on theCD/USB. They will help you further.

With every new installation you will need your .dat file with the machine settings so it is strongly

advised to keep the install media on the safe place.

1.3 ColiLiner/ColiCAM acquiring the license

ColiLiner and ColiCAM are one seat license programs. They will start up in the professional mode and

the user may fully evaluate the software. However the trial version is limited in such way that it can-

not export any files.

Note: ColiDrive does not require any licensing. You may use this program on as many PC’s you want.

However it will only be fully operational on the PC where the machine is connected.

Following applies to both ColiLiner and ColiCAM.

When the program starts go to the menu item “Activate license”




If you are using Windows® Vista or Windows® 7 you will most likely get the following dialog:

In this case you will have to start your program using full administrator rights. To do this, close the

program and on the desktop right click the shortcut, and then select “Run as administrator”.




When you repeat the above steps and have sufficient privileges the activation dialog will open.

Under order number please enter the order number that represents your purchase.

Under Customer number please enter the customer number that the supplier has given you.

Your License Identification Code: is a code that is generated on your PC.

Click on the button. This will open an email window with all the necessary information

for obtaining the license.

When you receive a return email, it will contain a message with the “Activation code”. Copy this code

into the green section of the window shown above (first field). In the second input box type your

name or your organization name.

Click on Accept.

As mentioned, you may use ColiLiner without the license. In that case you will be using it in trial ver-

sion where the exporting and saving the files is not available.

Note: After the activation has been completed any open project will be discarded.

Important: When activating the software, please consider that the software is a single license only. If

the software is activated future activations will not be possible without the purchase of the new li-

cense. In case of computer / hardware failure a new activation will be given if the time period of the

software is passing a certain time limit.




1.4 Installing the updates

Important: Before making any updates make sure that you back-up your Data folder. See chap-

ter: First run of ColiDrive for details on the location of the files. This contains all the relevant data

regarding your machine and settings.

After creating the backup, do the software updates. Normally the settings should be preserved.

However should you have any problems, restore the backup by following the same steps as in First

run of ColiDrive to restore your settings. The only difference is that now you have to put back all the

files you backed up.

2. ColiLiner

In order to create PCB’s your CAD package exports two types of files: GERBER 274x format 4for track

data and pad positions and Excellon3

for the drill information. You will need both files before you can

make PCB’s. ColiLiner calculates and generates tool paths that are used to mill and drill (manufac-ture) PCB’s.

Note: It is possible to make a complete PCB using only GERBER files. For more details on that please

see ColiLiner manual.

When a Gerber file is created it will have different extensions. These are usually modifiable in the

CAD package itself. What the extension is doesn’t matter as long as you know what the file

represents. In the following list are the standard file extensions that Eagle is creating. Do note that in

your package these might be different.

3With Excellon Version 2 the drill sizes are embedded in the file itself.If the file is Excellon Version 1 you will manually have

to import the drill sizes.




.SOL Copper Solder Side

.STS Solder Top Mask Solder Side

.PLC Silk screen Component Side

.STC Solder Stop Mask Component side

.CMP Copper Component side

.WHL Aperture Wheel File

Standard Gerber extensions are:

.GBL Gerber Bottom Layer

.GTL Gerber Top Layer

.GBS Gerber Bottom Solder resist

.GTS Gerber Top Solder resist

.GBO Gerber Bottom Overlay

.GTO Gerber Top Overlay

.GBP Gerber Bottom Paste

.GTP Gerber Top Paste

.GKO Gerber Keep-Out Layer

.GM1 Gerber Mechanical 1

.GM2 Gerber Mechanical 2

.GPT Gerber Top Pad Master

.GPB Gerber Bottom Pad Master

When creating an Excellon files the following files are created:

.DRI Drill information File

.DRL Drill Rack File

.DRD Excellon Drill Description

Note:

• If you make the Gerber274x files instead of Gerber, then you won’t need the .BRD, GPI and

WHL files.

• PTH stands for “Plated Thru Holes” or in other words, all holes that are through metalized

(copper connection between the bottom and top layer).

• NPTH stands for “Non Plated Thru Holes” or all the holes that are NOT through metalized.

• The DRI, DRD en DRL files can be viewed with Notepad or WordPad.

After importing the Gerber / Excellon files to the corresponding Artwork Top layer, Artwork Bottom

layer, Board Outline/cutouts en Drill Template from ColiLiner, the contours can be created. They will

be saved on the “contour layers”. At any point the project database can be saved to the disk for fu-

ture use. All ColiLiner projects have an extension .CBJ




2.1 Layers in ColiLiner

Artwork Top layer :

Contains the Gerber data regarding the component side of the PCB.

Contour Top Layer :Added by ColiLiner when the Artwork Top Layer is contoured. It holds all the tool paths that

are required to process the layer on the machine.

Artwork Bottom layer :

Contains the Gerber data regarding the solder side of the PCB.

Contour bottom layer :

Added by ColiLiner when the Artwork Bottom Layer is contoured. It holds all the tool paths

that are required to process the layer on the machine.

Board Outline/cutouts:All information regarding the cut-outs of the PCB.

Drill Template:

All information about drills




2.2 Preparing output in Ultiboard.FILE

EXPORT

NC-DRILL = create Excellon file (*.drl)

Properties

Enter:

Click OK

Re select “NC-drill”

ExportSave = create 1

stfile

Save = create 2nd

file (report-file). This file is only informative in nature. ColiLiner doesn’t require

this file for importing the files.

FILE

EXPORT = create Gerber file (*.grb)

GERBER RS-274X

Select the layers you wish to export. Ex: For single-sided PCB:

Board Outline

Copper Bottom

Then click to export the data

Note: “mechanical layer” is the layer required for drills with size > 3 mm.

Select under:

Select again RS274-X

Export

Save = create 1st file

Save = create 2nd

file




2.3 Preparing output in Eagle.

Make sure that the PCB design is open by using the “Eagle control panel” then go to File Open

Board and select the PCB to use.

Click on the ULP icon. When the dialog opens, select the ULP file with name: “DRILLCFG.ULP”. After a

few seconds you get the notification that the execution has finished.

Now click on the “CAM – processor” icon. The CAM processor window appears. In this window select

File Open Job (when asked to save the “Modified Job” click No). Select the CAM job called

“Gerb274x” and click OK.




Now click on the “Process job” button. A few messages will pop-up. First message will be: "Delete the

$$$ file after process". Click on OK.

The second message is: "More than one signal layer active", click again on OK. Depending on the size

and complexity of the PCB the process may take a few minutes.

When the CAM processor exported the files, there will be a few available with different extensions.

These are:

• Copper Solder Side .SOL

• Solder Top Mask Solder side .STS

• Silk Screen Component Side .PLC

• Solder Stop Mask Component side .STC

• Copper Component side .CMP

• Aperture Wheel File .WHL

Creating Excellon files:

From the CAM processor window select File Open Job and select the “EXCELLON.CAM” and

click OK.

Now click the small Process button. Now the Excellon file is being made. This may take a few

seconds.

As in previous example a few files are made. These are:

• Drill Information File .DRI

• Tool Rack File .DRL

• Excellon output .DRD

Note: When making a single sided PCB you do not need to make the .CMP and .STC files. If you still import them, ColiLiner will interpret this as a double sided PCB.

You can find more information on this page:

http://www.interq.or.jp/japan/se-inoue/e_eagle44.htm

Sometimes it happens that a CAD package exports the Excellon Version 1 file, but uses the headers of

the Excellon Version 2. In this case ColiLiner will also report that the file is Version 2 rather than Ver-

sion 1. In this case the sizes of the tools will have to be adjusted manually.

When the file is in version 2, ColiLiner doesn’t allow you to change the settings of the file. You have

to manually select the file as the Excellon version 1 in order to modify any data. You can also modifythe file itself. Open the file in notepad. Delete all the lines in the beginning of the file so that the file

begins with “%” character, and then next line is “T01”. If you then re-load the file in ColiLiner you will

see that the file is now of type 1 (Version 1).

2.4 How Gerber and Excellon files are built.

When the CAD package exports the Excellon file it usually creates two files. One is the real drill data.

The other is a report file that gives all the information on how the Excellon file is build up.

1. The report file







Generated by EAGLE CAM Processor 5.2.0

Drill Station Info File: C:/testfile.dri

Date : 27/09/2008 14:56:53

Drills : C:/testfile.drl

Device : Excellon drill station with usersupplied rack file

Parameter settings:

Tolerance Drill + : 5.00 %

Tolerance Drill - : 5.00 %

Rotate : no

Mirror : no

Optimize : yes

Auto fit : yes

OffsetX : 0inchOffsetY : 0inch

Layers : Drills Holes

Drill File Info:

Data Mode : Absolute

Units : 1/10000 Inch

Drill Tolerances:

-- Requested -- -- Used Drill --

Size used Code Size

32.000mil 292 T04 0.810mm

40.000mil 313 T07 1.020mm

36.000mil 41 T05 0.910mm

130.000mil 4 T15 3.300mm

90.000mil 2 T14 2.290mm

47.000mil 11 T10 1.190mm

44.000mil 8 T09 1.120mm

67.000mil 5 T13 1.700mm59.000mil 2 T12 1.500mm

52.000mil 2 T11 1.320mm

Drills used:

Code Size used

T01 0.500mm 14

T02 0.600mm 59

T03 0.800mm 20

T04 0.810mm 292

T05 0.910mm 41T06 1.000mm 16

Software information

Name of the report file

Name of the file containing drill information

Allowed tolerance on the drill sizes.

Layer that the file describes.

Important information:

Units and precision format. We have here a file

with the precision of 1/10.000. This means that

after the decimal point there will be 4 decimal

places. Hence the format can be 2.4, 3.4 or 4.4.

We can also notice that the units are in inches.

The format will be explained later in detail.

Tools that are used to make the PCB (including

the tools that are often used)

Tool list. Here you can see which tool has which

diameter. T01 (Tool 1 is a drill with the diameter

of 0,5mm)




T07 1.020mm 313

T08 1.100mm 2

T09 1.120mm 8

T10 1.190mm 11

T11 1.320mm 2

T12 1.500mm 2

Total number of drills: 795

Plotfiles:

C:\testfile.exc

File that contains the coordinates. This file

should be imported in ColiLiner.

2. The Excellon File.

T01

X9837Y22191X7587Y25691X33087Y16691

T02X21837Y47691X20837Y46691X19837Y45691X18837Y44691X17837Y43691

T03X70587Y35941X47337Y23191X10337Y58191X9337Y58191X8337Y58191X7337Y58191

Tool nr 1 (in our example a drill with a diame-

ter of 0.5 mm)Coordinates where holes are located.

Tool nr 2 (in our example a drill with diameter

of 0,6mm)

Coordinates where holes are located.

Tool nr 2 (in our example a drill with diameter

of 0,8mm)

Coordinates where holes are located.

3. Definition of some parameters.

Units: Units can either be metric or imperial

Omitted zeros: In order to keep the file size as small as possible, it has been decided to use the zero

omission. Par example 0010,1000mm is the same as 10,1. Which zeros we want to leave out is speci-

fied by leading zeros (zeroes before the number) or trailing zeros (zeroes after the number). The

number 0010,1000 with leading zeros omitted becomes 101000. Same number with trailing zeros

omitted becomes 00101.

Precision format: Coordinates are made out of integer and decimal part. In Excellon file par example

there are no decimal numbers only integers. The position of the decimal separator is determined by:

Number of digits needed for the integer part

Number of digits needed for the decimal part




Precision format is used with leading/trailing zero omission.

The number of the digits that is used in precision format (ex. 4.2) would be explained as follows:

The number in front of the point describes how many digits are used for the integer part, whilst the

number behind the point describes how many digits are used for the decimal part.

The precision format 4.2 has therefore 4 digits for the integer part and 2 digits for the decimal part. If

the units are in millimeters this means that the resolution is 0.01 mm.

We will now look closely the above sample. In the report file we see that the units are 1/10000 inch.

From this we conclude the following:

Units = imperial

Precision format: x.4 (smallest value is 0.0001 inch)

In order to select the correct format for import we have two possibilities that we can try. Or we have

to work with leading zeroes or with trailing zeroes omitted. Since the report doesn’t specify this val-

ue, we just may guess which of the two is correct. When one of the two is selected we can see on thedisplay that the layout is correct or not.

Note: Most of the programs use the (leading zeros omitted setting)

To find out which precision format we should use, we have to know how many digits have been used

for the integer part of the number. When using leading zero suppression, we are allowed to put as

many zeroes behind the integer part of the number as long as the biggest coordinate can fit in the

integer part.

Let us assume we are using the precision format 4.4 (it could also be enough that we use the format

3.4 or 2.4, this depends solely on the board size.)

The first coordinate is X9837Y22191. When applying the format this means that:

X = 9837. Our format is 4.4 with leading zero suppression. Therefore with the zeros in front this

would be 00009837. We know that we need 4 digits for the digital part. Therefore

the X coordinate becomes 0.9837 inch.

Y = 22191. When adding the zeroes this becomes 00022191. With the decimal precision we get the

number for Y = 2,2191inch.

For these coordinates we could have used the format 2. 4. Let us try this. Pictures below show that

we can import this format. Changing the format to any other value will result in no change. If any

coordinate would be bigger than 99.9999 inch we would have to go to the format 3.4.




For information: imagine that we swap the value of the omitted zeroes (from leading to trailing), in

that case the scale of the import wouldn’t be correct anymore.




2.5 Using ColiLinerStart ColiLiner .

2.5.1 Importing the bottom layer

Press the button and locate the correct folder and the file with the extension .GBM (or .SOL)

that defines the Copper Bottom.

You can find the file easier if you use the filter:

Open the file and click on the “import to layer” drop down menu. When you select the field you must

click again for the menu to expand. You will then see the following selection.

Select “Artwork Bottom Layer”. You will see the imported file in the screen in red color. You can click

on Close button to close the window.




Note: sometimes the image has to be mirrored. By definition you always have to look at the PCB with

the component side facing towards you. Therefore to avoid confusion it is recommended to have text

on the board.

2.5.2 Importing the component layer (Top layer)

Press the button and locate the file containing the information about the top layer with exten-

sion .GBL or . CMP



Select “Artwork Top Layer”. You will see the imported file in the screen in green color. You can click

on Close button to close the window.

2.5.3 Importing the drill information





sion .DRD

In case of the Excellon file, ColiLiner automatically recognizes that this is a drill layer, therefore you

do not have to assign the layer for it.

When the dialog opens you have to set the correct values if they are not set correctly. You can al-

ways check this on the layout of the drills.




Unit: you may select inches or metric

Omitted Zeroes = Trailing of leading

De XY coordinates are saved in a specific format. The zeroes can be padded on the left or on

the right of the number. 004020 can be interpreted as 0.402 (leading zeroes omitted) or

40.200 (trailing zeroes omitted).

Precision format:

Defines the number of digits before and after the decimal point. Precision 2.4 means that

there are 2 digits before the point, and 4 after the point. 3.3 means that there are 3 digits be-

fore the point, and 3 behind the point. In our example, Eagle uses the format 2.3 units are in

inches and leading zeroes are omitted.

If the CAD package exports the Excellon Version 1 file, you will have to manually add the drill diame-

ters that you can find in the report file (.dri). You can view the file with Notepad.

2.5.4 Setting the correct format for the drills

Sometimes it is difficult to find the right settings for the Excellon files. The following tips should help

to make it easier. Nice thing is that once the settings are set they are saved by ColiLiner so you will

not have to change them again unless you change the export settings of you CAD package.

1. Most of the packages use the setting leading zeros omitted .

2. When you take a look at the .dri file, you can see that the units in ColiLiner are in inch be-

cause in the line 22 the units are in Inch.




3. In the same dri-file the same line tells us that the unit is 1/1000. This also tells you how

many digits have to be behind the decimal point. In other words this means that the format

can only be 2.3, 3.3 or 4.3. It is even so that if you have a small PCB it doesn’t matter which

value you select because as long as the PCB is smaller than 99.xxx inch it will always fit in the

scale.

4. Don’t forget that the layers can be mirrored. This means that it can be that the size is correct

but that one of the layers have to be mirrored.

2.5.5 Aligning the drill layers.

Since the drill layer is in different format it may happen that the drill information is not correctly

aligned with the Gerber data.

Note: Even this demonstrates how to align the drills over the other layer, same principle applies for

aligning any layer over the other.




Above picture clearly shows that the drills don’t match the positions of the pads. To align the layers

follow the following:

1. Select the active layer.

From the available layers select the drill layer as the active one. This allows you to domodifications on the layer.

When the layer is selected as active the name of the layer will appear as the top most en-

try in the list.

2. Click on the “Align Layers” button

3. From the sub-menu (on the second column of vertical buttons), select the button. It

allows you to align the object to the pad center.

4. Then click on the hole that you want to align with a certain pad position.

5. Then click on the pad position where the drill belongs to.

6. Make sure that the pad positions are visible. (Pad positions are not holes, they are the

indication that underneath this place there is a pad.)




2.5.6 Importing the cutout layer


sion .dimension






Select “Board Outline/Cut-outs”. A question will pop up that asks you to “Reconstruct polygons”. This

in other words asks you to confirm that ColiLiner should look for the closed shapes when importing

the data. For board outline it is important that the shape you want to cut is the closed shape. Click

yes. You will see the imported file in the screen in blue color. You can click on Close button to close

the window.

Note: Don’t forget to export the dimension layer as a separate layer when using Eagle. Then you can

use any shape for you PCB.

2.6 Text on the PCB

If there is text on the PCB it is advised to use the following procedure. This makes the milling process

faster and nicer.

1. Select the layer where the text is located as the active layer




2. Then click on the button.

3. And on then on the button

4. Select the area that represents the text.

Text will now be visible as dashed lines. This means that the text will be milled on the line.

2.7 Adjusting the number of passes with the tool around the pads or

tracks.

When it comes to soldering the PCB’s the bigger the clearance around the contacts we have the easi-

er it is to solder. Since the standard insulation of the tracks and pads is 0.2 mm it may be more diffi-

cult to solder, this especially counts for schools. In order to help the user with soldering ColiLiner has

a feature that allows the user to contour the pads (normally the solder contact points) in multiple

passes. This means that only the places where the soldering will take place will be extra contoured

(providing bigger clearance).




This is easily done by selecting Task Fabrication Parameter Setup. Find the option “Contours

around the pads” and adjust it to double, triple or quadruple contour.

Single contour around pad Triple contour around pad

2.7.1 General remarks




1. ColiLiner will never violate the clearance rules in the PCB. This means that you can set with-

out the problem par example triple contours around the pads. The pads will be triple con-

toured only on the places where this is possible.

2. For Ultiboard uses: Ultiboard tends to export the fiducial markings on the PCB’s ( ) inorder to delete them, first select your active layer (layer where this fiducial is located) and

the use the delete function ( )to delete it. (Select the area you wish to delete).

3. It is possible to add custom drilling holes. First select the drill template as the active layer (

) Then select the general button for drawing ( ). From the

sub menu select the holes button ( ). Select the position where the hole has to be lo-

cated and type in the diameter of the drill.

4. In the similar way you may add additional tracks, text pads or any kind of elements to yourdesign. However this doesn’t modify the original design. Therefore we suggest to make the

modifications in you CAD packages should you discover that something is missing in the de-

sign.

5. Create and delete function par example can also be used on the contour layers. This allows

you to modify the contours that are created by ColiLiner.

6. Most of the buttons in the sub-menu are toggle buttons which means that they can be either

on or off. Be careful when selecting the button. If the button is pressed and you press it again

it will be de-selected. When you then try to perform an operation you will not have anythingdone. Check that the function you want to do is actually selected. Par example button is not

selected ( ) or button is selected ( )

2.8 Contour All Layers

This function contours all the layers. Or in other words it calculates the tool paths. Tool paths are the

lines that the tool will be making when it’s milling out the PCB.




Note: Unlike etching procedure where all the un- necessary copper is removed, milling PCB’s in stan-

dard contouring mode only insulates the elements of the PCB. For full copper removal please see the

ColiLiner manual.

If the copper must be removed you can use the copper removal function. The main reason that this is

not standard procedure while contouring is because it wears out the tools more and it takes moretime to finish.

2.9 Creating the Board outline

When the board outline is imported, it is not contoured. Also, when the "contour all layers" is se-

lected this is the only layer that is not contoured. This is because there is no information on how the

board outline should be contoured. While for the tracks and all other elements it might be easy to

predict in which way the contouring might happen, with board outline, the tool may go on the out-

side of the path, on the path itself or inside the path.

So first select the active layer, then the “assign cutting mode” and then select the proper position of

the tool path




2.10 Using break out tabs

Break out tabs is a feature that is used to make sure that after milling out the PCB that it cannot

move and that it will not “fly-out”. To create the break out tabs, make sure that you are on the BoardOutline/Cut-Outs layer. Then select the general create element button ( ) and from the sub-menu

the create break out tab ( ). Then you can click on the line where you want to insert the break

out tab. In the middle of the line the tab with the specified width will be inserted.




2.11 Exporting files to ColiDrive

Warning: The following work flow only applies when you have the activated version of the software.

Otherwise the button for export will not be available.

After importing all the files, creating all the contours and creating the Board outline and/or Break-out

tabs, you are able to proceed to the export of the file. At this point it is also recommended to save

your project. To do this select File Save project.

To export the file for ColiDrive click on the Export button ( )

Program is asking you to give in the filename. Give in the name of the file and a file will be saved with

the extension .BFF .If ColiDrive is present on the system, ColiDrive will start automatically and the

exported file will be loaded.

It is a good practice to save your .CBJ and .BFF files together with your Ultiboard or Eagle files. In thisway you will not mix up the revisions and your designs.




3. ColiDrive

If this is the first time you start the ColiDrive software please see the section : First run of ColiDrive

that explains the start up of the program and how to check if all your settings are correct.

3.1 Basic adjustment of the machine

Normally the machine is completely aligned when you receive it. The following guidelines are only

necessary in cases that there were problems in the transport, machine wear or any other problem

where any of the settings are no longer in the bounds of the normal operation of the machine. Read-

ing this section allows you to understand in more detail how the machine works and what is it that

the software is doing for you.

3.1.1 General information about the depth adjustment.

The milling head consists of the active Z axis with floating head and the depth regulator that allows

you to adjust the depth of the milling in microns. This is out of grave importance as the thickness of

the copper is only 35 µm (micro meter). Position where the machine

has to start milling you will normally not have to adjust, there might

be some adjustments on the depth of milling (see further in the doc-

ument).

What is special on these types of the machines is that the tools are

made in such way that you will use the same depth for milling and for

drilling. In this way your milling is always happening on the same

place. The so-called “Default zero position”.

Since the machine has to do three tasks, milling the insulation, drilling

and cutting the PCB out of a larger sheet, the drills and some cutting

tools have to pass through the PCB material. This is where you use

the underlay material for (the hardboard material under the PCB

material). All the tools that are going through the PCB will be milling

in this material instead of the T-nut table.

WARNING: Never mill PCB’s without the underlay material. This may damage your machine.

In order to make this way of milling possible (all milling on the same depth) some special systems

were developed. Depending on the machine type and the motor type we distinct two major systems.

1. Spindle motor has a fixed stop so that the tools can only be inserted to a certain depth.

2. Tools have special rings on them so that they can be inserted to a certain depth.

Normally with the first delivery of the machine there is a toolset ordered. If the tools delivered are

without the rings then on your next order you should specify that the tools must be without the

rings. Should you forget to specify this, you will have to take the rings off the tools before you can

use them.

Standard toolsets are now always delivered with the rings on.




3.1.2 Placing the tool in the motor

Machine can be delivered with 3 different types of motors. With a black top, with a gray top or with

automatic tool change. In case of automatic tool change please contact the supplier for more infor-

mation about your machine and how to change the tools.

The motors that have black tops (see picture below) marked with “B” have a fixed locking system for

unloading and loading the tools. This means that when you press the button on the top downwards it

will click in place. From that moment you can turn on the knob to release or lock the tool. When the

tool has been exchanged, you have to unlock the knob by pulling it upwards.

Gray top motors however have a spring system and have to be pressed down in order to lock or un-

lock the tool. The always automatically unlock so there is no need to unlock the motor.

WARNING: when using the motors with the black top, it is crucial that you don’t forget to pull out the

knob. Failing to pull the knob out, the motor will fail to start, and the electronics will enter the over

current state. You will have to switch the machine off and back on in order to be able to use the ma-chine again.

To place the tool in the motor:

Press the knob and turn about 3 full turns in the counter-clockwise direction (CCW). Then place the

tool with the cutting part facing downwards in the motor (A) making sure that the tool is going com-

pletely in the motor. Best practice for this is to push the tool gently upwards using your nail. The

press the knob and turn it clockwise (CW) until you fill a small resistance. Pull the knob (B) out (up-

wards) till you here a click (applies only to the motors with the black knob).

WARNING: Use care when handling the tools and placing them in the motor. These tools may be very

sharp and mishandling them may lead to injuries.




WARNING: Never try to change the tool when the motor is turning. Stop the motor before reaching

for the tool.

3.2 Setting the “default zero position” and milling depth

3.2.1 Default zero position

In order for the machine to work correctly it must know where the material is on the machine and

how thick it is. All repositioning moves should be about 1 mm above the surface of the material,

while all the milling and drilling operations must be in the scope of the maximum floating move the

machine can make. Therefore we have introduced the “default zero position” which is in the case of

milling standard PCB material always the same. Since the tools that are going through the PCB ma-

terial are longer than the tools that must do engraving work we can define the “default zero posi-

tion” as a position of the Z axis where the drill is about 1 mm above the PCB material.

In order to set the default zero position, use the following steps:

1. Place a mill in the motor (not a drill!!!) and visually inspect that the mill is just coming out of the engraving head. See Adjusting the milling depth for more details on adjusting the depth

of milling.

2. Once your milling depth is correct, place a drill in the motor (not a mill) and lower the Z axis

using the Z axis position buttons until the tip of the drill is touching the PCB surface.

In the edit field under the marked area you can adjust the step the machine will make down

to 0.001 mm (1µm).

Note: Use a bigger drill for this operation (1 mm or bigger). If you should then touch the material with

the tool, the tool will not break. With very small tools there is a chance that the tool breaks.

3. When you have reached the top of the PCB, now move the Z axis 1 mm upwards. The value

you can read in the “Show position of” window by the Z value is the value that you have to

use with your “default zero position”




Please note that the “default zero position” may be different on any machine. Therefore you cannot

use any values mentioned in this manual as a “default zero position”. You have to find one yourself.

4. This value has to be entered in the proper field in the Machine settings window. You can find

this by going to Setup Machine properties tab machine, and value “Default Zero Posi-

tion”.




3.2.2 Adjusting the milling depth

The milling depth with a certain conical mill to-

gether gives the width of the milling track. Since

it’s obvious that the deeper you go the tracks

will be wider (because the mill has a V shape) itis from great importance that the milling depth

is correct and even more important that it is

constant.

For this reason the milling depth can be precise-

ly adjusted using the steel ring on the engraving

head (marked on the picture with the arrow). If

the adjustment is required this can be simply done by turning the ring to left or right. It is advisable

to check the milling depth during and after the milling process. If adjustment is required don’t hesi-

tate to adjust the depth in small steps. Should you come to the conclusion that the depth is not cor-

rect you can always adjust it by setting the depth manually before you start milling the project. This isdone by moving the machine manually in order to inspect the track width.

By using different angle of the tool different resolution of the milling depth can be achieved. Bad

setting of the depth can have to side effects. If you don’t mill deep enough your PCB will not be con-

toured properly (there will be short-circuits on the board) and if you mill to deep, the milling result

will not be nice and the width of your tracks will be reduced. Furthermore the wear-out of the tool is

much bigger when milling too deep. This means that you will not use your tools for the time that

they are made to last.

Making the setting:

1. Place an engraving tool (normal line milling tool (COLCT0001)) in the motor. If this is the first

setting, make sure that the tool is not coming out of the engraving head. It should be about

0,1, 0,2 mm in the head. Use the navigation buttons in ColiDrive (see ColiDrive manual) to

bring the machine about 1 mm above the material. Don’t use the steel ring for this!

2. Start the motor at maximum RPM.

3. Lower the Z axis another 5 mm. The head will lie on the PCB material.

4. If the step one was done correctly, when moving the machine with the head down 20 mm in

the Y direction you will see nothing on the copper plate. This is normal because the tool is in

the engraving head.

5. Turn the adjustment ring to the left (as you are opening a bottle (CW)) until you think that

you are in the PCB material. Then move the Y axis for 20 mm. See if you have milled the line.

If the line is there, turn the wheel in the other side a quarter of the turn (CCW) and move

again 20 mm. Do not over turn the ring. Adjustment has to be done gently so that you are

just through the copper.

6. Repeat the step 5 until the width of the track is about 0.2 mm. (you can compare the track

width with the sample board that was on the machine when it was delivered).

In fact the correct depth can also be described as: the lines have to be as thin as possible, but there

must be no copper in them (it has to be a clean cut).




3.3 Setting the Mirror line

When one wants to make a double sided PCB he will need the help of the mirror line. The mirror line

is a virtual line that stretches in the Y direction of the machine and splits the machine in 2 parts. This

virtual line is stored in the software, and ColiDrive is using it to determine in which way it has to re-

position the board layers when milling double sided PCB’s. Since there are lot of mechanical influ-ences that might affect the position of the mirror line it is important to check you milling results and

adjust the position if required. Such reasons may be, mishandling the locking pins when taking the

PCB off or on the machine. Hitting on the PCB material to fit it, and even drastic temperature.

Should the machine need recalibration of the mirror line, there is one simple step that has to be

done. Take the last PCB you have made and determine the error in positioning. The best way to see

the error is to determine how far is the drill off the center on the top layer of the PCB. This can be

determined either with the camera or with a caliper.

The distance that you have measured you have to divide in 2. This is your error. If the error is to the

left (meaning that the center of the drill has an offset to the left of the center of the pad) you have tomove the position of the mirror line to the left for the value of error. Same analogy applies for the

error to the right. If the error is to the right, move the position of the mirror line for the error value

to the right.

Position of the mirror line can be set in SetupMachine properties tab Machine




Note: The position of the mirror line is factory set. It is not advisable to change this setting if you are

not sure what you are doing. Please consult your supplier if you are in any doubt




3.3.1 Software configuration

All the settings and explanations regarding all the settings in ColiDrive can be found under Help

User Manual in ColiDrive

4. Information about tools

If purchased a tool set there are different types of drills and mills delivered. These tools can be di-

vided in 4 categories.

• Drills

• Flat end mills

• Engraving tools

• Cutting tools

Drills have two cutting edges and the tip is grinded to the angle of 115°End mills are flat at the bottom (cylindrical) and have two cutting edges

Engraving tools are conical tools that have the tip of 90° or 60°

Cutting tools are similar to Flat End mills but have a big number of cutters and appear quite rough.

They are used to cut the FR4 material.

Table under describes standard tools found in the tool set.

NAME REF CODE Specifications Remarks Image

PCB engraving

tool

Isolation mill

1/8” L=36 mm

COLCT0001 Normal Line Mil-

ling

0,2-0,5mm

Milling insulation

from 0.2 – 0.5

mm wide

PCB engraving

tool

Isolation mill

1/8” L=36 mm

COLCT0002 Fine Line Milling

0,1-0,15 mm

Milling insulation

from 0.1 – 0.15

mm




PCB RF End Mill

1/8" L=36 mm

(2 flutes)

COLCT0005 d = 0,40 mm Used for copper

removal or milling

insulation (mostly

used in RF appli-

cations)

End Mill

1/8" L=36 mm

2 cutting edges


removal

End Mill

1/8" L=36 mm

2 cutting edges


removal

Contour Router

Raw mill

1/8" L=38 mm

COLCT0013 d = 1,00 mm Used for fine

work on cutting

detailed PCB with

non standard

shape out of big-

ger sheets




Contour Router

Raw mill

1/8" L= 38 mm

COLCT0014 d= 1,50 mm Used for fine

work on cutting

detailed PCB with

non standard

shape out of big-

ger sheets

Contour Router

Raw mill

1/8" L=38 mm

COLCT0015 d = 2,00 mm Used for cutting

PCB out of bigger

sheets

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0023 0,60 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0024 0,70 mm




Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0025 0,80 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0027 0,90 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0028 1,00 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0029 1,10 mm




Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0032 1,30 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0034 1,50 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0048 2,95 mm

Drill

1/8” L=38 mm

COLCT0049 3,00 mm



5. Credits

Parts of this tutorial were provided with the help of the teacher from Damiaaninstituut in Aarschot

and Sint-Lambertus school from Westerlo. Our special thanks goes to (in alphabetical order) De Wit

Annemie, Staquet Theo en Vangenechten Luc for their help on making the parts of this manual.

Colinbus Milling Machine Manual

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Transcript of Colinbus Milling Machine Manual