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Components and Circuits For discussions about component types, alternatives and availability, circuit configurations and modifications etc. Discussions here should be of a general nature and not about specific sets. |
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21st Jul 2017, 6:56 pm | #21 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Just be careful if you file/sand or use a high-speed cutter on SRBP/Veroboard or FR4: the dust produced is highly irritant due to the resins involved.
[Same goes for sanding/cutting MDF: there is a historical raised incidence of nasopharyngeal cancers amongst furniture-workers!] |
21st Jul 2017, 7:22 pm | #22 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Hexham, Northumberland, UK.
Posts: 2,234
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
I just snap Veroboard carefully along a line of holes. I suppose you couldn't cut a square from a large sheet doing this but most of the time I just cut strips and the spare bits always get used at a later date. I always have a bag of various sizes and offcuts from previous projects and there is usually a bit which is near enough the right size in there. I never bother scoring it first. Very occasionally I get it wrong and it snaps in the wrong place. I file the edges flat and also run the file down the copper edges to remove flash as has been mentioned before. I sometimes clean up the copper tracks with a mild abrasive if I am going to use it right away.
Alan. |
21st Jul 2017, 7:26 pm | #23 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Oxford, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
My cousin, Roy Evans, was a set construction manager. Mainly at Pinewood, but travelled a great deal http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263190/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr22 . I'd forgotten how many A-list movies he had worked on.
He eventually died on set in his 50's on location in the Philippines after a lifetime of manufacturing movie sets out of MDF with no dust extraction or facemasks - as a result he had chronic respiratory disease - a bit like miners' silicosis - from MDF dust inhalation. MDF in particular is seriously hazardous to work with. Whenever I very occasionally work with MDF (in fact for any wood) I have high throughput dust extraction going behind the radial arm saw, bandsaw and router. Craig |
22nd Jul 2017, 12:16 am | #24 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Some surprisingly complex and/or elaborate methods here...
I just buzz along a row of holes with a cheap flat-blade screwdriver. A couple of passes on each side - no need to go deep. Then snap. No cutting required. Don't even need a straight edge, though that doesn't hurt, naturally. Though optional, I do like to clean up the edges with a file. For that, I find it easiest to put the file down on the bench and rub the board along the file. Takes no time at all. This is what I've done since I was a kid - it was all I could do with the tools I had. Despite having access to better tools today, this method is still what I do. |
22nd Jul 2017, 5:42 pm | #25 |
Octode
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Hacksaw to size and file any hole remnants away to make it look pretty.
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22nd Jul 2017, 6:24 pm | #26 |
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
A sheet of course 'sand paper' stuck to a bit of wood is a useful tool for getting rid of the "half holes" left after snapping. A useful tool in any case too.
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22nd Jul 2017, 8:38 pm | #27 |
Rest in Peace
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
After many years of using a drill bit to remove copper track, I recently bought a Vero "spot face cutter". This is basically a drill bit in a plastic handle but works very well. I don't know why I haven't had one before now.
Alan. |
22nd Jul 2017, 11:13 pm | #28 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Seconded on the proper track cutting tool! I ordered one to make up the minimum for free delivery, and it was a revelation! Hard to believe I'd put up with using an ordinary drill bit for so long .....
For prototyping, as opposed to final construction, I use Veroboard with the copper side up and leave component leads long. It makes adjustment much easier!
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23rd Jul 2017, 12:35 am | #29 |
Dekatron
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Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
It's a long time since I used Veroboard, but one lesson I learned is not to have too many track cuts in a line, it weakens the board (or at least it did mine)
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23rd Jul 2017, 1:18 am | #30 | |
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Quote:
However, I don't think I've used it at work for a very long time now. We stopped using veroboard back in the mid 1990s so it just sits there 'waiting' year after year in my tool mug...
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23rd Jul 2017, 6:57 am | #31 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
I agree with 'too many cuts in a line' weakens the board. I once had a board crack in half after I decided to put a column of ICs down the middle (and thus cut just about all the tracks). Now when putting DIL ICs on veroboard I do stagger the cuts (with 0.3" wide ICs you still have 2 columns of holes between the pins).
I use a 3.5mm twist drill (in my fingers). I do have a proper spot-face cutter somewhere but I didn't find much difference. The time I cut with a knife/scalpel and then remove the track with a soldering iron is if I need to use adjacent holes with them not connected, e.g. for one of those 2-row header plugs (the ones that take the IDC socket on ribbon cable). I tend to use the FR4 substrate stripboard now, it's much nicer than SRBP. And I do still use it a lot for prototyping, it's not worth etching a PCB for that sort of project. And it's easier to make changes on stripboard. |
23rd Jul 2017, 3:00 pm | #32 |
Dekatron
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Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Yes, I found that it was very easy to overdo it with the spot face cutter and create a deep crater and this can definitely weaken the board if it happens across a row of holes.
I always tried to score and snap veroboard rather than cut it with a hacksaw. Partly because my hacksaw skills are poor but also because it gives straighter edges and leaves less mess. I've still got a few bits of veroboard here at home but I don't use it much. I prefer to ugly build stuff or make a proper drilled PCB but sometimes veroboard is the quickest option for basic stuff with a couple of IC sockets and a few resistors and caps.
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23rd Jul 2017, 5:41 pm | #33 |
Dekatron
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Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
While I have a couple of spot face cutters, I rarely use them. Prior to buying them, I just used 3.5 or 4mm drills. The cutters didn't do a better job from new - and went blunt pretty quickly - the only advantage was that it was easier on the finger tips. Today, I still use drills. If there are more than a handful to do, out comes the cordless drill.
Yes, a scalpel can do nice cuts between the holes for IDC connectors and the like. Also, removing complete tracks (when clearance for high voltages or minimum capacitance is required) is really easy - just use heat from the soldering iron and pull the track away. Neater than drilling, is complete, and doesn't weaken the board. As I've said in previous threads, I use old 0.1" graph paper to plan my layouts, and take a lot of care over the construction. For one-off projects, it's rarely worth the hassle of a PCB - fun though that is. Yes, PCBs usually end up being more compact and neater, but their electrical advantages can be minimised by careful planning. Though not at RF, naturally |
24th Jul 2017, 6:13 am | #34 |
Dekatron
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
I use a ruler and dremmel with a fine diamond "engraving" bit. For veroboard though a ruler isn't really needed as the bit follows the holes. Round the corners and finish with a file and drill fixing holes. I've frequently cut out the traces on copper clad and forgot the fixing holes.
Andy.
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1st Aug 2017, 11:41 pm | #35 |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: West Midlands, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
Vero- it's cut and snap with a pair of cutters. PCB ,I use a cabinet saw with a bit of wood underneath.
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2nd Aug 2017, 8:45 am | #36 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
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Re: Cutting Veroboard
After a couple of veroboard disasters when I was a kid I stopped using the spot face cutters and use a scalpel to break the tracks. It doesn't stress the board as much.
Also recently I've started using FR4 based stripboard. The SRBP / FR2 stuff is hygroscopic and I was disappointed to find that numerous projects from about 25 years ago had warped and disintegrated in my parents' loft. |