Thanks @jpanhalt and @dl324. There are a few 3 in 1 tools (shear, bend, and roll) I'm going to look in to. !6" to me seams about perfect, but 30" might come in handy. The choices....

 

The main concern I have with that shear is that there are no hold-downs that I can see. All shears will tend to move the piece being cut. The vinyl tile cutter and heavy duty paper shears mentioned give you something to rest the PCB on and hold it to while cutting.

 

I just got one of these:



Carbide tipped backer board scoring tool from the local home-improvement store. Works great for cutting copper board. A bunch of cuts, not much pressure needed, cuts it most of the way. The phenolic I cut snapped without chipping, which is what it did with the non-carbide acrylic knife I tried before.

 

I just got one of these:

View attachment 227144

Carbide tipped backer board scoring tool from the local home-improvement store. Works great for cutting copper board. A bunch of cuts, not much pressure needed, cuts it most of the way. The phenolic I cut snapped without chipping, which is what it did with the non-carbide acrylic knife I tried before.

Please let us know if it's any better than an ordinary box cutting knife...

 

I use a little 4” “table saw” from Harbor Freight with diamond blade. Makes a very smooth cut.

Bob

Interesting approach.

I guess diamond blades from Home Depot or Lowe's is cheap enough.

As a micro section technician of 4 years, I used a diamond blade (back then $270 US) for the blade. Good for precision cuts but the cutting machine, however, is very expensive. And for the times I've cut a PCB, that expense is just not justified. So for cutting PCB's I just take my Xacto knife and nip off the tiniest part of the tip, then drag that along the cut line. Then I turn it over and use the back side of the knife to cut a wider channel. Repeat until about half way through. Yes, it's dangerous, can cause severe cases of blood loss if not absolutely careful, but after repeated scoring of the board on both sides you can then snap the board off. For the rough edges, a good carbide sand paper will smooth those off nicely. I wouldn't use a steel file because the fiberglass of the PCB is quite dulling. That's why I use an Xacto knife.

 

Given the assumption you don't have a controlled environment- If you have to cut PCBs, NEVER EVER use rotary tools, blades, or grinders. Usually they are FR4, and this is fiberglass. You don't want to breathe that in.

Papercutters are dangerous. I say that having nearly lost a thumb to one- it shifted as I was bringing the blade down, and my thumb wound up under the guard. To this day, I still can remember exactly how that felt... :/

Use a mini sheet-metal brake. You can get good ones from Amazon for < $200. I paid $165 for mine.

That's how I cut the PCBs for more IV-22 displays (and other projects)--



You can clearly see the unmodified edge on the bottom PCB where it was cut. Safe to finger touch.

 

Interesting approach.

I guess diamond blades from Home Depot or Lowe's is cheap enough.

As a micro section technician of 4 years, I used a diamond blade (back then $270 US) for the blade. Good for precision cuts but the cutting machine, however, is very expensive. And for the times I've cut a PCB, that expense is just not justified. So for cutting PCB's I just take my Xacto knife and nip off the tiniest part of the tip, then drag that along the cut line. Then I turn it over and use the back side of the knife to cut a wider channel. Repeat until about half way through. Yes, it's dangerous, can cause severe cases of blood loss if not absolutely careful, but after repeated scoring of the board on both sides you can then snap the board off. For the rough edges, a good carbide sand paper will smooth those off nicely. I wouldn't use a steel file because the fiberglass of the PCB is quite dulling. That's why I use an Xacto knife.

Off Subject- Interesting caption about a noose. I once had a guy try to hang me with noose, and before I took him down, I learned how to tie nooses from watching him tie mine.

 

Given the assumption you don't have a controlled environment- If you have to cut PCBs, NEVER EVER use rotary tools, blades, or grinders. Usually they are FR4, and this is fiberglass. You don't want to breathe that in.

Do you mean it is dangerous like asbestos or just a "nuisance dust?" If the later, then an ordinary face mask like we are required to wear today should be sufficient.

 

an ordinary face mask like we are required to wear today

Most cutting dusts can be blocked by a simple face mask. But when cutting Beryllium and making breathable dust - you MUST wear something far more substantial than a common mask. Beryllium is dangerous to breathe. The lungs will be destroyed. But fiberglass, a mask is good enough. And the advice for well ventilated areas is good practice.

When cutting stuff, dust masks are always recommended. When cutting resins - again, highly recommended. When working with solvents or other hazardous chemicals you'll need a mask and filter rated for that chemical. Whether you're conformal coating or burning something off - fumes can be hazardous. A good mask is recommended. And a well ventilated area.

 

Please let us know if it's any better than an ordinary box cutting knife...

I am. And it is.

 

But when cutting Beryllium

Now you tell me. I both milled and lathe cut Beryllium, and later EDM'ed it. No such thing as even a warning from those in authority.

 

For mid-sized boards (a couple of inches), I use a flooring laminate cutter. It is basically a straight shear against a backing plate. I never liked "cutting" any fiberglass boards, the dust from that can be nasty.
Check for used cutters on local selling sites. Most people, when done their flooring, sell the cutter at a cheap price.

 

Now you tell me. I both milled and lathe cut Beryllium, and later EDM'ed it. No such thing as even a warning from those in authority.

Milling, cutting and EDM do not produce airborne dust. Especially EDM. Milling - you're cutting chips. It's not likely you'd ever inhale chips of Beryllium. Same with cutting - as long as it was some kind of saw. Friction wheel cutting - bad news. Lots of dust that way. Sanding - lots of dust.

 

I think Shortbus is aware of that . Maybe you are not aware of the connection between beryllium and Cleveland, OH . Youngstown is a neighbor. Perkins avenue is downtown. It is part of our history and one of the first things I learned about it after moving here:

https://case.edu/ech/articles/b/brush-wellman-inc


Once I moved to SE SW Cleveland, I drove by it every day to work. That airport to the upper left, is Burke Lakefront airport.[/S]

 

Please let us know if it's any better than an ordinary box cutting knife...

Also, being carbide and requiring less force to cut...this would be good for anyone who suffers from arthritis.

 

Milling, cutting and EDM do not produce airborne dust. Especially EDM. Milling - you're cutting chips. It's not likely you'd ever inhale chips of Beryllium. Same with cutting - as long as it was some kind of saw. Friction wheel cutting - bad news. Lots of dust that way. Sanding - lots of dust.

You I guess have never worked with it. And as far as EDM your right no dust, just smoke containing much smaller particles that go farther into you lungs.

 

@shortbus The EDM I've done has all been submerged in pure water. No smoke at all.

 

@shortbus The EDM I've done has all been submerged in pure water. No smoke at all.

How did you keep the bubbles from coming to the surface of the water and popping/breaking. Even when using very low current their is bubbling in any of the work I've done, and have had machines that use both oil and water as a dielectric. Now if your talking wire edm the bubbles are still there but since the size of the wire electrode is so much smaller you probably didn't see or notice them. But I was talking sinker edm.

This video shows a low amperage cut, to keep the smoke down -

 

And here is one of wire edm showing the smoke from it too.

 

Now if your talking wire edm

Yup! But they had other EDM as well. I didn't work EDM long - I have a strong background in inspection and the lead man thought that I was an inspector because that was all I could do. He had no faith in my mechanical ability. He treated me like a Red Headed Step Child and always talked down to me. I went to HR about it and he copped a new attitude, a better one. But when I asked one guy a question - my question was not listened to - I just got the answer "We don't do it that way." I know that. I was asking why we were putting a hole perpendicular to a surface that wasn't 90˚. As an inspector I saw a discrepancy and wanted to bring it to attention. Instead I was ignored. Esasperated I decided to just build what they wanted. Then the lead came by and asked me how things were going. Like a fool I broached the subject. He gave me a perfectly acceptable answer and set my mind at ease. "We know about that. It's not a problem and the customer agrees." OK. I was happy enough to go on building things for commercial aircraft that I knew was acceptable. Then he found out I asked "Tahn" that same question. "DID YOU JUST ASK TAHN THAT SAME QUESTION? DID YOU JUST ASK TAHN THAT SAME QUESTION ? ? ? NEXT TIME YOU WANT TWO ANSWERS TO THE SAME QUESTION GET US BOTH AND WE'LL BOTH ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!" It was then that I went to HR and said "I can't work with Greg!" Handed over my badge and left.

I endured that for six months. Wasn't going to stick around and get treated like that any longer.