FR PCB Milling Machine V1.0 Released

added by Jan Luc Tavares on 2014-09-29 17:22:56.627993

We would like to invite all interested in open hardware to help us build a community of users, makers, and developers around an Open Source Printed Circuit Board prototyping machine.

We have just finished assembling the first FR PCB Milling Machine, named after Furnarius Rufus, an oven bird that builds its nest with earth, much alike current digital fabrication techniques. Our initial design was based on the following directives

Easy to build;

Worldwide availability of parts;

Low cost without compromising precision and durability;

Able to provide SMD-ready circuit boards;

Low maintenance cost.

The project is available under CERN Open Hardware License V1.2 at a public repository that hosts specification and fabrication details for each part for the FR PCB Milling Machine. Additionally, we have included a description of each step executed for the fabrication and assembly of the first prototype (in Portuguese). More info:

OUR OBJECTIVES

We believe that a common infrastructure for design, simulation, construction, and use of open scientific and educational instrumentation represent a critical step in the advancement of human knowledge. We call this concept the Open Workbench. In our approach, the Open Workbench contains a set of low cost and open source digital fabrication tools for prototyping and small scale manufacturing of open scientific and educational instruments. A low cost, Open Source PCB Milling Machine represent a logical addition to the currently available tools such as free software CAD tools and open source 3D printers. While we expect to continue the improvement of the FR PCB Milling Machine with the help of new contributors and community feedback, we are also planning on the development of additional digital fabrication tools with your feedback. Please join our mailing list and let us know what you think.

For more information on the development of the Open Workbench, please visit this link.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

As any open source project anyone is free to pursue on its use, study, modification, and distribution. Bellow are some suggestions on how you can help to develop the Open Workbench.

Building and documenting the fabrication of your own FR PCB Milling Machine; Include local suppliers of parts and services in order help others near you building their own

Developing upgrades and enhancing the current version of the machine;

Sharing educational and scientific projects that use the FR PCB Milling Machine;

Help in translating the documentation to other languages;

Providing input for the next digital fabrication tool to be added to the Open Workbench

Spreading the news.

Thanks,

The FR PCB Milling Machine V1.0 development team.*