Micromat MM 470A Operator's Manual

Manufactured in England by:

MICROMAT INTERNATIONAL
SANDERS LODGE
WELLINGBOROUGH ROAD
RUSHDEN
NORTHANTS
NN10 6BQ
ENGLAND

Tel : [phone] Intnl : [phone]
Fax : [phone] Intnl : [phone]
web: www.micromat.co.uk email:[e-mail]

PCB DRILLING SYSTEM

( MANUAL TOOL CHANGE - AIR )

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

MICROMAT

INTRODUCTION

The Micromat has been designed to enable the drilling and routing of printed
circuit boards to be carried out quickly and efficiently by non-technical
personnel.

The machine is first taught the pattern of holes to be drilled and from then on
the same pattern can be drilled as many times as required until the machine is
re-programmed.

The teaching of these patterns can be by manually programming the machine,
loading data from cassette tape or by downloading CAD drill data from other
computer systems.

If a particular pattern will be required at some time in the future then it may be
saved on cassette tape to be fed back into the machine whenever needed.

Routing profiles can be programmed very quickly and will show a considerable
time saving over conventional sawing or pin routing methods, especially where
small irregular shapes are required.

As with any computer controlled machine, the Micromat will only do what the
operator tells it to do, so in order to obtain the best results its operation must be
fully understood by the operator and the following instructions should be read
carefully , using the machine for reference, until the procedures become
familiar . It is not necessary to actually drill anything to become aware of the
machine's capabilities since use of the CHECK mode allows programs to be
entered and visually inspected with the built in CCTV system. This not only
provides a valuable training aid, but also a necessary testing facility for any
entered programs prior to actual drilling or routing operations.

The Auto T ool Change version offers improved output and accuracy since the
boards do not have to be removed between runs of different drill sizes.

1

INSTALLATION

The drill mechanics must be securely mounted on a flat, rigid surface in order to maintain
the machine's accuracy .

Electrical supplies should be from a direct connection to the main power source of the
building with no other equipment of any kind connected to the same line.

A good electrical ground connection must be made to the machine both to reduce electric
shock hazard and to help prevent electrical disturbances from affecting the operation of the
machine. In some areas it may be necessary to use a power supply filter / regulator unit to
prevent power line interference.

Power requirements:
Electrical Supply 220-230 VAC, 47-63 Hz., single phase @ 10 Amps
Compressed air must be clean and dry and regulated to not more than 80 p.s.i. (5.5 bar)

Although the Micromat will operate under a wide variety of conditions, the machine must
not be subjected to extremes of temperature as this will obviously affect its accuracy .
T emperature changes will also affect the size of any laminate being used. Normal operation
should be at or about 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).

INTERCONNECTIONS

2

ROUTINE SERVICING

The only basic attention required by the Micromat is that it is kept clean and free from dust
and grease.

The swarf extraction unit should be emptied at least daily and the filter bags well shaken to
avoid dust clogging and subsequent overheating and destruction of the motor. The motor
brushes should be inspected monthly and replaced if required.

The X and Y axis bearing rods are accessible beneath the blinds and should be inspected
regularly , wiped with lint free cloth and lightly oiled.

The spindle should have its collet completely removed daily and any traces of dust cleaned
from it and its housing. A build up of dust will cause off-centre rotation, poor quality holes
and a rapid destruction of the spindle bearings. When replacing the collet ensure that the
keyway on the collet engages with the pin in its housing.

From time to time, check that all connectors are secure and that connecting cables are not
frayed in any way .

The tape recorder head, capstan and pinch wheel should be cleaned each week by using
cotton wool buds and methylated spirit or a proprietary tape head cleaning fluid.

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Section

4

CONTROL SWITCHES AND FUNCTIONS

RESET (momentary action)

Places the control system in an idle mode waiting for a command from one of the following
switches:- M/EXP, HOME, PROG and RUN.

DRILL or M/EXP (momentary action)

If the system is in the PROG mode, then the MOVE or EXPAND routine will be operated.
(See also Section 11). When not in the PROG mode this button operates the drill head
through one complete down/up cycle to enable drill depth and feed rate to be checked.

HOME (momentary action)

Drives both axis of the machine to their HOME (datum zero) position at the top left of the
table and set both X and Y position read-outs to zero.

PROG (PROGRAM) (latching action)

When this switch is depressed the complete control panel is activated to enable a drilling or
routing program to be entered into the control system's memory either manually or by
loading from cassette tape or from a PC via the optional RS232 interface. The program can
be modified and edited in any way required and saved on cassette tape for storage or future
use.

NOTE:- Programs are executed directly from the control system's solid state memory . The
cassette tape is used purely for storage of Drilling or routing data.

RUN (momentary action)

Sets the machine in motion to execute a drilling or routing program which has been entered
into the control system's memory.

CHECK (latching action)

This control modifies the RUN mode to exclude any drilling or routing action so that an
entered program may be checked visually with the TV system. (See also INCR).

HOLD (latching action)

When depressed, this switch will stop the machine in its RUN or CHECK mode. On its
release, the machine will continue to execute the program normally . The HOLD function
also acts as a link between the RUN and PROG modes. (See also INCR and Section 8).

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Section

5

JOY-STICK

This is used to move the TV target to the position on the circuit board to be drilled or
routed. It should always be moved away from any illuminated INCR buttons to avoid
driving the table to its limit position. If this should happen, HOME must be pressed to
enable further movement.

HOLE (momentary action)

Enters the current position co-ordinates together with the command code for a HOLE and
the current setting of the TOOL SWITCH.

INCR (INCREMENT) (momentary action)

Four of these controls are located round the joy-stick, and a single press will move the
target 2.54 mm (0.1") in the corresponding direction. If the button is held down until a
bleep is heard, the new co-ordinates, together with the command code for a HOLE, will be
entered into memory . If the button is still held down, after a short delay, the tar get will
continue to move in 2.54mm increments and each position will be entered into memory until
the control is released. The current setting of the TOOL SWITCH will be entered with
each HOLE command.

If CHECK is switched on the INCR distance will be halved. (e.g. 1.27mm)

If HOLD is on during an INCR command then the distance to be moved will be determined
by the setting of the right hand digit of the SIL switch as follows:

SIL HOLD HOLD + CHECK

x1 2.50 mm 1.25 mm
x2 2.40 mm 1.20 mm
x3 2.00 mm 1.00 mm
x4 1.78 mm 0.89 mm Equates to 0.070" for IC packages.
x5 1.60 mm 0.80 mm Use 0.8 for 1.6 mm router offset.
x6 1.50 mm 0.75 mm
x7 1.00 mm 0.50 mm
x8 0.60 mm 0.03 mm
x9 0.10 mm 0.05 mm
x0 ? ? Operator programmable.

SIL switch position '0' can be programmed by the operator for any value from 0.01 mm to

2.56 mm as follows:

1 Ensure PROG is off and press INS.
2 Use the joy-stick to select the required value as a positive number on the X axis DRO.
3 Press any of the INCR buttons.
4 The selected number will remain programmed until the machine is switched off.

(Running a routing program will result in loss of the programmed value)

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Section

6

TOOL-SWITCH (0-9 selector switch)

This switch is used to enable patterns of different sized holes to be entered into a single
program and to allow the selective drilling of those different sizes according to the setting
of the tool switch when RUN is activated. When using the SST and BST controls, the
display next to the tool switch will show the tool setting that was originally programmed for
each command.

RPT (REPEAT) (momentary action)

Allows a pattern of drilling or routing information to be repeated as often as required on
one panel thereby reducing overall programming time. This function should only be used
when multiple circuits are to be produced on one panel of laminate.

OPEN BRACKET (momentary action)
CLOSE BRACKET (momentary action)

These commands allow operator specified patterns (e.g. for DIL packages) to be repeated
within a program. As many different patterns as required may be entered provided they are
each contained within their own set of BRACKETS. OPEN BRACKET commands specify
the start positions of the pattern and must be followed by the pattern itself, and then a single
CLOSE BRACKET command.

SST (SINGLE STEP) (momentary action)

Allows a program to be checked by advancing one set of co-ordinates at a time and moving
the target to those co-ordinates. The system will not SST past an END command.
(See also Section 9).

BST (BACK STEP) (momentary action)

As for SST but steps backwards through the program. When the start of the program is
reached the bleeper will sound six times. (See also Section 9).

END (momentary action)

This command must be entered at the end of a program to signify that no further
instructions are entered. If omitted, the Micromat will continue past any programmed
information and pull from its memory old data which may destroy the pattern which has
already been drilled.

DEL (DELETE) (momentary action)

A single press will delete the current co-ordinate and command information from the
program and the TV target will move to the next command in the program.

The 'current co-ordinate and command' is the command (HOLE etc) which has been
reached by using the SST and BST controls, is shown on the TV screen and whose actual
co-ordinates are displayed on the DRO.

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Section

7

INS (INSERT) (momentary action)

When INS is pressed the control system will wait for a command to be entered. This will be
inserted into the program immediately before the current co-ordinate and command which
was reached by using SST and BST and was indicated by the target position.

The position to be inserted must be aligned before the INS key is pressed.

SAVE (momentary action)

Allows the operator to save an entered program on cassette tape for storage or future use.
Pressing SAVE for longer than 2 seconds will access the RS232 software to communicate
with an attached PC.

LOAD (momentary action)

Enables the cassette tape system to load a program into the control system's memory .
Pressing LOAD for longer than 2 seconds will access the RS232 software to communicate
with an attached PC.

When transferring programs to and from cassette tape, the time taken will be 20 seconds
plus 1 minute for every 500 commands in the program.

The memory of the Micromat will store up to 9,800 commands.

Use only top grade C30 computer type data cassettes.
Do not use C60, C90 or C120 audio cassettes.

X Y SW AP

If the X and Y values need to be exchanged to fit the program on to the Micromat table:

1) Press RESET.

2) Switch on PROG.

3) Switch on HOLD.

4) Switch on CHECK.

5) Press and hold LOAD until the tone ends.

6) Press CTRCCW (the left-hand "CTR" command).

7) Press RESET to continue.

X and Y values will then be swapped

1

Section81

ROUTING COMMANDS

DOWN (momentary action)

This button enters the position at which the routing cutter is to be fed into the circuit board
along with the setting of the TOOL SWITCH.

If followed immediately by an UP command the cutter will be fed into the board and then
withdrawn, making a single hole the same diameter as the cutter.

If followed by further DOWN commands, with different co-ordinates, the machine will cut
in straight lines between each pair of DOWN co-ordinates.

DOWN may therefore be regarded as a "Down and stay Down" command until an UP is
programmed.

UP (momentary action)

The UP command is used to enter the position for the cutter to withdraw the cutter from
the board at the end of a straight line cut. The co-ordinate information entered with the UP
command is irrelevant since the command is used only to lift the cutter but the setting of the
TOOL SWITCH is important since UP commands are used in conjunction with previously
entered DOWN commands using the same TOOL SWITCH number .

NOTE:- DOWN and UP commands for the same cut must be programmed with the same

TOOL SWITCH setting.

CUTTING SPEED

The SIL switch is used in the RUN mode to select the cutting speed during routing as
follows:-

10 .. 160 mm/min.
20 .. 175 -­30 .. 190 -­40 .. 210 -­50 .. 240 -­60 .. 275 -­70 .. 320 -­80 .. 385 -­90 .. 480 -­99 .. 645 --

Section

9

CIRCULAR ROUTING

CTR CCW (CTR) (momentary action)

CTR CW (RAD) (momentary action)

The CTRCW (Centre Clockwise) and CTRCCW (Centre Counterclockwise) commands are
used to program the centre point of circles or part circles whose radii must not be greater
than 325.00 mm. The TOOL SWITCH setting is entered with the command.

The button to be used depends upon the required direction of the cutter as it moves round
the circle or arc.

e.g. To program the machine to cut a full circle a total of four commands are required:-

1) a DOWN command at the point where the cutter is to enter the board.

2) a CTR command ( either CCW or CW ) at the centre point of the circle.

3) a second DOWN command at the point at which the circular cut is to finish
( the same point as the first DOWN command for a complete circle ).

4) an UP command to withdraw the cutter from the board at the end of the cut.

As with DOWN and UP commands the DOWN and CTR commands for a given circle must
be programmed with the same TOOL SWITCH setting.

ROUTING ARCS

T o cut part circles and arcs, the start and finish points (DOWN commands) must first be
calculated to ensure that their co-ordinates are exactly on the circumference of the circle
whose centre is to be programmed with a CTR(CW) or CTR(CCW) command.

Arcs through 45 degrees and multiples of 45 degrees are simple to program using the DRO
for positional reference as long as the start/finish points of the arcs are at 45 degrees or at
right angles to the machine's axes. Other start/finish points must be calculated to ensure
accuracy.

All points to be programmed for arcs and circles must lie within the programmable table
area of the bed of the machine.

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Section

10

ROUTING NOTES

An allowance must be made for the cutter diameter in all routing programs.

The INCR function can be used for cutter offset if a value of half the cutter diameter is
selected but will, of course, only be fully effective if used parallel to the axes of the machine.

For best results with the 125 watt spindle, use a 1.6 mm dia. routing cutter with a maximum
stack height of 3.2 mm. Up to 2.4 mm dia and a stack height of 6.4 mm may be used with
the 450 watt spindle.

Use a very slow feed rate to plunge the cutter into the board (use only plunge end cutters)
and a spindle speed of between 35,000 and 45,000 rpm. for the 125 watt 4025 & 4026
spindles.

Use 30,000 to 40,000 rpm for the 450 watt 4032 spindles.

If a high pitched whine is heard then try reducing the cutter rpm. or increasing the cutting
rate.

For smaller cutters, e.g. 1 mm and under, use a higher spindle speed (55,000) and slower
cutting rate.

It must be understood that while routing is taking place there will be an appreciable
deflection of the routing cutter. This is caused by the cutter bending under the load of
routing where only the forward edge of the cutter is in contact with the laminate.

The deflection will vary depending upon the size of the cutter and the linear cutting speed
and could be as much as 0.15mm (0.006") and will cause the bottom board in a stack of
three boards to be cut larger than the top board.

If greater accuracy is required, then the part should be routed in two passes. The second
pass will be cutting only a small amount of laminate and the cutter deflection will therefore
be negligible.

Any measurement of routed parts should be conducted with great caution as changes in
temperature can greatly change the size of a piece of laminate.

1

Section

11

LINEAR ROUTING EXAMPLES

Position No Command

1 DOWN
2 DOWN
3 DOWN
4 DOWN
5 DOWN
5UP
5 END

Note that there are three
commands at position 5.

Positions 1 to 11 are programmed sequentially with DOWN commands at each point.
Position 12 is then programmed with 3 commands:- DOWN, UP and END.

Note that points 6 and 8 are in the same position.

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Section

12

CIRCULAR ROUTING EXAMPLES

OUTSIDE CIRCLE

Position 1 is programmed with a DOWN command, position 2 with a CTRCW command
and then position 1 again with a DOWN and an UP command at the same position.

INSIDE CIRCLE

As above but position 2
is programmed with CTR CCW

90 DEGREE ARC

Position Command
1 DOWN
2 DOWN
3 CTR CW
4 DOWN
5 DOWN

The lengths of radii 'a' and 'b' must be equal.

1