Re: Tiny PCBs - score, route, or ?

On Wed, 28 Dec 2005 19:05:51 -0700, the renowned "Richard H."
<rh86@xxxxxxx> wrote:

>Spehro Pefhany wrote:
>> V-groove would be the way to go. Very little waste (you do have to
>> keep traces away from the very edge of the board) and you can assemble
>> and perhaps even test the little b*ggers before you have to break them
>> apart. No tooling, and only a tiny cost per board (perhaps less than
>> the cost of the PCB area otherwise lost to kerf).
>
>Yeah, I hadn't thought about the issue of the dust generated during
>cutting too. By the time I rig this, it'll be cheaper / safer / easier
>to just pay the board house.
>
>We're definitely planning to assemble and test on the larger board, then
>snap off for packaging. What drives your suggestion for V-score over
>tabbed routing? I don't have enough data to weigh cost yet, but is
>there much difference in the waste? (Routers seem to be in the 0.12"
>range.)

There is basically *no* waste with V-groove, provided you don't intend
on putting parts and traces right out to the edge. 60 mils is usually
enough. I have not tried it with >2 layers, you might need a bit more
for that.

>As for unused space around the perimeter, even reserving a 0.1" border
>would take a huge bite out of the yield. So anything that minimizes the
>perimeter space will be welcomed.
>
>Do you know board houses that'll do v-score or tab routing for
>proto-volume, and a reasonable price? I'm working through my list
>slowly (it's hard to find this detail info), and Olimex is the closest
>thing to reasonable so far. Volume is a problem, because at this size
>2-3 boards makes a huge batch of devices, and the one-time fees make the
>per-piece costs high.
>
>Thanks,
>Richard

Most moderate/small volume PCB suppliers will do it for a nominal
charge. Not so many prototype companies.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@xxxxxxxxxxxx Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
.

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