New Autoleveling PCB software

[Daedelus]

Thanks for the encouragement and for testing,

Version 0.5 is the latest right now. Did I say there were other versions?
I am working on 0.7 right now which does already fill the settings in automatically amongst many other improvements. Actually, I am quite excited about the new version . I will add it to the website ASAP.

You are probably not doing anything wrong, but this sounds like a bug in Autoleveller. Your attachments will make it easier to find and fix, and the new version should include a fix. Stay tuned.

best,

[Daedelus]

OK so I have done a bit of testing and fixing.

First of all I opened the levelled file in cambam. This is what I got:



The red lines are the probing routine. The probe points need to cover the design for levelling to take place. So, in the image, the design is on the negative side of X, whereas the probes are on the positive side. The probe values should be something like:
X = -37
Y = 0
X length = 37
Y length = 20

Then the probes should cover the design. As I said, this is done automatically in the new version so you dont need to worry about the probe settings.

However... This will not fix the divide by zero error because version 0.5 seems to struggle with negative coordinates. I have generated and attached the levelled file generated with version 0.7 (not yet released) if you want to try it.

best,

[C_Bubba]

Daedelus,
How is the progress, it sounded like you were close? I was looking forward to testing the next version:})

[Daedelus]

Good timing Art,

The new version is now available for download (version 0.7) at www.autoleveller.co.uk.

I have made many changes, improvements and fixes, including:

• Supports inches and millimeters. Inches or millimeters is now automatically taken from the input file
• Saved filenames add a pre-cursor "AL" at the beginning as default and the extension is changed to be more appropriate for the chosen control software
• Checking of probe settings to ensure they are in a number format
• Parser stores additional states from the input GCode file
• Probe settings filled in automatically from the input file
• Reads and displays the extremities of the input file when it is first selected
• Displays stats for the probing data such as the number of probes that will be used in the output file. Changing certain values such as the 'probe spacing' (then 'tabbing out' of the field) will automatically adjust the stats. The user can try to optimize the probe count like this
• Added an about box with the version number and a clickable link to this site
• Set the spindle speed to a default value of 20000 to ensure 'M3' GCode works. 20000 will not overwrite any further speed settings
• Button to clear all probe settings
• Bug fix: Occasional divide by zero error
• Added pre-amble copy write text to the output file
• Warns if the milling area is not contained within the probing area. However, it is perfectly legal to change the probing extremities so that the milling area is larger or smaller than the probing area. You may do this if, for example, only a small proportion of the design needs to be levelled
• Core levelling code changed to provide greater robustness
• Several changes to the GUI layout

This same list is available at my website, as is the software download of course

Any problems let me know.
Enjoy.

Note: Whilst the probe settings are automatically filled in from the input file, feel free to make any manual post adjustments to the settings.

[C_Bubba]

Good Morning,
This is great news and I guess my plans for most of today have now changed:})
Look forward to trying it out and I really like what I see so far.

Thanks.

[Daedelus]

This thread seems to have dried up in the last few months but I am now on version 0.7.7 and have released the Java source code for it.

Due to the number of comments on my page, I have added a forum. This will give users more options when discussing the autoleveller software. Please feel free to use: http://www.autoleveller.co.uk/forum/ for future autoleveller discussions and/or other stuff.

Thanks.

[Daedelus]

Edit: That forum URL is www.cncsoftwaretools.com/forum.
The main Autoleveller site can still be found at www.autoleveller.co.uk.

enjoy

[Sam Reaves]

Hello Daedelus,

I just bought a CNC3040T machine that could really make use of your software. I went to your site but I could not find the download link for the software. Would you please check that or post the direct link here?

I am currently using SprintPCB layout software that outputs Isolation files in HPGL. I then run them through another program to convert the HPGL to Gcode and then make a couple of edits to keep LinuxCNC happy then I can route the board. The results have been dismal thus far, all attributed to the the CNC hardware. Z depth is now the most critical one. I don't think I can solve it in any way without your software.

I do have one question: How does your software handle a double sided PCB? SprintPCB will generate one file to handle both sides but it puts a comment in the file to prompt to flip the board.

I probably have close to $1K USD invested and I have not been able to make a single part!.

Thank you for your interest.

Sam

Dear CNC PCB guys,

Inspired by the ideas from Poul-Henning Kamp [Height probing for PCB isolation routing with Eagle/pcb-gcode], I have created software to probe the surface of a blank piece of copper, then use the probed coordinates to adjust the Z height during the milling process, i.e. the tool height varies according to its X, Y position. I have also filmed the first test and also produced 2 identical circuits; with and without the autoleveling software running to demonstrate the results. Currently, I have tested with linuxCNC (it may or may not work in Mach3 at the moment, but definitely will in the future) and the GCode was originally generated with pcb-gcode. The software itself accepts a GCode file as input and outputs an optimised autoleveleled file.

I know there is an autoleveler for PCB-GCode already but I couldn't get it to work and my software should work on any gcode file produced from any isolation software and should be easy to use too.

Why wouldn't the copper be level?

1. Table might not be level relative to the tool
2. Blank copper might have significant flex

Why is this a problem?

1. Some areas of your board are lower than your Z zero while other areas are higher, leading to deep cuts in some areas and shallow cuts in other areas
2. Occasionally, a very small ammount of the tip will break off if there is a lot of pressure from a deep cut. Then your tool won't touch the surface at all and you will need to re-touch-off Z and re-run all or part of the code
3. Bits and boards are wasted

To demonstrate this problem, here is a pic of a non-autoleveled circuit board:

Attachment 8750

There is a huge area in the bottom left which is completely missing. This is with a leveled table so only the board flex is an issue here.

This is the exact same 100x80mm circuit with my autoleveling software in operation (same pcb-gcode settings, same method of fixing the board down etc.):

Attachment 8751

As you can see, this is much more consistent. The traces are thin but thats due to the settings in pcb-gcode and Eagle, not the autoleveler.

I also filmed the whole autoleveled milling process. Here is the cut down video:



Where can I get the software? As soon as I make a website to stick it on I will add a link. Assuming there is interest in this project?

Happy Milling :),
Daedelus.

[EddyCurrent]

Is this the download you are looking for Sam ?

Windows
http://www.autoleveller.co.uk/Autole...eveller077.exe
Linux
http://www.autoleveller.co.uk/Autole...eveller077.jar

[Daedelus]

Thanks guys,

Not sure why you couldn't find the downloads Sam. The page and site works OK when I just tried it. Anyway, Eddy has provided some direct links

Yesterday I provided some GCode files for download. So you can play around with them for a bit if you wanted.

With regards to double sided PCB's... The AutoLeveller handles those fine as long as you flip the board over and align it correctly (how to align it, is up to you).

Quick note: I don't know how much experience you have but you might need to lower your expectations at least initially. Even with the AutoLeveller, its unlikely that you will produce a "good" board for the first few times. Keep practicing though and it will get better