Drilling Pcbs

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
What does everyone use to drill the holes for their diy pcbs ??
I ask cause I am looking for a portable hand held drill of some sort to make a couple pcb or in larger hole.. I would love to use my drill press but to big for my apartment...

Thanks
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
What does everyone use to drill the holes for their diy pcbs ??
I ask cause I am looking for a portable hand held drill of some sort to make a couple pcb or in larger hole.. I would love to use my drill press but to big for my apartment...

Thanks
The vast majority of PCB drilling is probably done with a drill press and solid carbide bits. Handheld drills and small carbide bits do not go well together. You will break a lot of bits, unless you have a really steady hand and good technique. If drilling small holes for the usual wire leaded component freehand, I would use a HSS bit.

1) Consider getting a smaller, portable drill press.
2) Switch to SMD's. The 12xx size is really not that small. No holes needed.
3) If using Eagle, use "drill aid ULP" . That adds a fill to holes and leaves just a little spot in the center of each pad bare. You can adjust the size of that spot (I use 0.5 mm). The spot acts as a center punch and helps get a good start for either freehand or drill-press drilling.

John
 

ronv

Joined Nov 12, 2008
3,770
What does everyone use to drill the holes for their diy pcbs ??
I ask cause I am looking for a portable hand held drill of some sort to make a couple pcb or in larger hole.. I would love to use my drill press but to big for my apartment...

Thanks
They make a little drill press for dremel tools. That's what I use.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I would love to use my drill press but to big for my apartment...
Any drill press too large for your apartment will have too much runout to be useful.

This is what I use. A dremel-type drill in a mini drill press. Some say this model has too much runout, but it works for me. I've drilled thousands of holes with carbide bits and haven't broken a single bit using it. Maybe it requires proper technique...
 

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
I found this and it seems really nice but I don't have a 3d printer
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:628696


or

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1140647



The vast majority of PCB drilling is probably done with a drill press and solid carbide bits. Handheld drills and small carbide bits do not go well together. You will break a lot of bits, unless you have a really steady hand and good technique. If drilling small holes for the usual wire leaded component freehand, I would use a HSS bit.

1) Consider getting a smaller, portable drill press.
2) Switch to SMD's. The 12xx size is really not that small. No holes needed.
3) If using Eagle, use "drill aid ULP" . That adds a fill to holes and leaves just a little spot in the center of each pad bare. You can adjust the size of that spot (I use 0.5 mm). The spot acts as a center punch and helps get a good start for either freehand or drill-press drilling.

John
I was looking to get a micro drill press but haven't really seen anything I like or small enough.. I know smd is the future but I am just learning through hole parts and might have to make the move anyways ... Thanks for the great info on Eagle as I wasn't aware and might help me out later down the road..

They make a little drill press for dremel tools. That's what I use.
I was checking them out and worth a shot ..

Any drill press too large for your apartment will have too much runout to be useful.

This is what I use. A dremel-type drill in a mini drill press. Some say this model has too much runout, but it works for me. I've drilled thousands of holes with carbide bits and haven't broken a single bit using it. Maybe it requires proper technique...
Thanks I never saw that before but the price is alot but I am not sure I have a choice ..
 

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
This is what I use now, a Microlux 81631. I have never broken a carbide PCB drill bit with it. I previously used the Dremel drill press and I constantly broke bits with it. It never stayed in alignment. Considering that bits cost between $0.50 and $1.00, I figure the Microlux will pay for itself in about 2 years. Plus, a good bit of frustration is gone.
 

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