This week in lab we created a FabISP it is an in-system programmer designed for production in a fab lab. I used the Roland Modela MDX-20 to mill a printed circuit board for the FabISP. The mill uses a 1/64” diameter endmill to remove material from an FR1 (phenolic paper) printed circuit board. The remaining copper traces makeup the circuit. Then, a 1/32” diameter endmill cuts the outline of the board.

The first thing that stuck out to me when I got to the lab was that the board was much smaller than I had imagined. A steady hand and gentle motions were things i quickly discovered were key for completing this assignemnt!

Step 1

Step 2

As you can see in the picture below to the right the milling process was not a as success during the 3rd attempt. The milling bit was very well used and it broke about halfway through the milling process, my partner and I were not sure if we should stop the machine or not, so we let the mill finish and this was our result.

Step 3

I found that have a stable soldering enviroment was going to be my key to succes, so I placed my board in the table top vice grip.

Step 4

This is my final product. I did tiny clean ups here and there with the copper wick. Copper wick is a roll of thin braided copper strands that can be applied to any blobs of solder and heated with the iron (Tip: add a little additional solder to to the top of the copper braid as well it helps absorb the solder you are try to to remove!) , soaking it up with its increased surface area. Leaving my board with cleanere and more precise solder lines.

Step 5

With the help of few classmates who were in lab I was able to test my board, and it worked! I am now ready for the next step of programming my board!