Milling and drilling
32
ProtoMat M60
7.5 Isolation milling
fig. 13: LPKF universal- (1), micro-
(2) and HF-cutter (3)
Caution! Before milling make sure that the PCB is positioned
tightly! Switch on the vacuum system!
Before milling, it must be ensured that sharp LPKF universal milling
cutters (36 mm long) are used. The milling width is set to between 0.2
and 0.5 mm depending on component thickness.
It is advisable to degrease the base material with cleaner spray before
machining (degreaser for electronic components), so that milling dust
can be removed more easily by the extractor.
The milling depth must be set as large (deep) as possible in all cases. If
only the extreme milling cutter tip (<0.2 mm isolation) is used, the tool
wears more quickly than with deeper drilling.
The LPKF micro-cutters can be used to produce even smaller isolation
channels, but their service life is about 10% less than that of the above-
mentioned universal cutters.
Caution! Do not confuse micro-cutters and universal cutters - both
of them can only be recognize using a microscope.
A cutter has been specially designed for HF-technology. It produces a
rectangular cross section.
