The Colinbus CPR-30/PCB is built using Stealt Technology. This way moving parts remain light and rigid but the complete machine becomes strong and stable. Especially for PCB milling machines this is of extreme importance. This specific application requires machines to be able to produce fine-structured designs at relatively high speed. With this in mind the Colinbus PCB range has been developed. Four strong linear guidings, normally only used in big and heavy high-precision machines because of the price, make part of the design. But because these guidings are the n°1 when it comes to stability and precision they have been used in this PCB machine.

As with all engraving machines the milling depth can be adjusted in a very precise way. This is very important to obtain tracks with a constant width. Especially with conical shaped tools every difference in depth will be visible. On printed circuit boards these small aberrations could lead to short circuits or tracks being (partially) milled away.

Apart from being bad for the health dust also gives poor milling results. If dust remains on the board to mill, the “depth limiter” gets the wrong information and exact depth regulation becomes difficult. For this reason the CPR-30/PCB has been equipped with a cyclone-shaped dust extraction head. The dust is being extracted in the milling head itself to avoid dust getting in the open air or under the “depth limiter”.

A heavy face-milled T-nut table forms the basics of a Colinbus CPR-30/PCB machine. This table in combination with the flexible software gives the user the possibility to fix the material in a number of different ways: by means of a movable strip in the middle of the machine, by corner alignment or by entering a new zero point anywhere on the table. Because of this system this machine is not restricted to a specific applications.

Apart from milling and drilling of PCB’s, other work pieces (as small cabinets and front panels) can be fixed onto the table as well. Apart from the T-nut table a vacuum table is one of the possible options.

Milling PCB tracks and paths requires high-precision and special software developed to meet the specific requirements of this application. That is why a CPR-30/PCB/HF cannot be compared with a standard milling machine. Construction, guidings, drivers as well as software are different. High-quality parts are used in this machine what guarantees a long-life cycle and a superb milling result.

This PCB machine uses a profile rail guiding system which gives a high positioning and movement accuracy. Because rolling resistance is used, high speed with low power can be obtained. These guidings have an extremely long life-expectancy.

The high-level machines use ball lead screws. They are nuts that are filled with small balls that glide over a spindle (screw thread). The standard systems however have a small bit of play. Having no play would cause the nut to block. This small bit of play causes some deviations which are nearly visible in common milling work, but come clearly forward when doing high-precision (µm) work. The Colinbus CPR-30/PCB uses “Zero Backlash” technology. Special nuts are used that undo the “backlash” – as this play is called.

With the CPR-30/PCB machine you can not only mill PCB’s or other materials but because of the active Z-axis ‘normal’ milling work as drilling holes in cabinets or front panels can be done as well. Contrary to most of the PCB milling machines that use a solenoid to move the head up-and-down this Z-axis is controlled by means of a motor and a spindle that guarantee a 4 cm reach. Either you work with the built-in special “floating” system that makes the engraving head follow the surface of the material or you go for ‘normal’ milling in which case the Z-axis behaves as on a standard milling machine.

To mill fine structures a high-frequency spindle is required. In order to get nice and straight milling tracks high rotation is a must. The milling head itself should be very precise because the minor deviation leads to large mistakes. The Colinbus CPR-30/PCB comes with a 30.000 rpm high-frequency spindle motor.

Making small and rapid movements requires specially adapted embedded software. Special routines have been written in order to be able to make perfect circles. Electronics has been modified to transfer the high acceleration to the motors. As in the other Colinbus machines hybrid motors have been used here as well.

Colinbus CPR-30/PCB machines are delivered ready-to-use. This includes all required software for PCB milling and drilling. Reading popular file formats that are very often used for this application as for example Gerber (X) and Excellon are no problem. Contrary to other systems where you need a lot of knowledge in order to be able to work with these files it is simply a matter of pushing some buttons in the Colinbus software. It is fully automatic and in case something should be missing in the file that you or another person made, it will not only be stated but the software will try to guide you step by step to get the desired result. Simplicity and power combined in one software!

The CPR-30/PCB/HF machine has been especially designed for PCB milling and drilling. This machine has an extremely high-precision and has all the required features and accessories to produce Printed Circuit Boards in an easy and fast way. But this machine can do a lot more: machining of electronics cabinets and front panels just to name two examples. Because the machine has a motor-driven Z-axis and a face-mille aluminium T-nut table all this can be done in a professional way. One thing is for sure: with a CPR-30/PCB/HF machine you can highly enhance productivity of your lab.