Specifications

Tools, material and accessories
ProtoMat 95s/II 45
6.2 Materials used for machining
In general all base materials supplied by LPKF can be used for
machining. You are free to machine all other materials at your own risk.
Take into consideration the notes of the manufacturers.
However, phenol resins of lesser quality, such as FR 2, can adversely
affect the milling quality.
Glass fibre reinforced epoxy material (FR 4 or G 10) can be a health
hazard due to the milling dust produced (allergies, risk of cancer).
Tool service life is also substantially reduced.
Danger! Never work without the extractor running.
We recommend epoxy material without glass fibre (FR 3). A total
thickness of 1.5 mm with a 35 µm copper coating is normally used.
With top milling quality and a high tool service life, no disadvantages with
regard to FR 4 are known other than a slightly reduced mechanical
bearing capacity (breakage).
This should not be a significant drawback for prototype boards unless
particularly heavy components are to be mounted.
With 17 µm material even finer milling passes can be engraved at a
higher packing density.
For galvanically through-hole-plated, double-sided PCBs FR4 material,
5 - 17 µm Cu thickness is used to prevent an excessively thick copper
layer after galvanic copper application.
Compromises must be taken for 70 µm material when setting the milling
depth in that a deeper milling depth results in wider milling passes of 0.3
to 0.6 mm.
Special base materials with a thicker copper layer of up to 300 µm can
no longer be machined with the LPKF Universal Cutter.
Contour cutters or special tools are needed for these materials.
In these cases, we would ask that you consult us and send sample
material so that we can carry out any tests which may be necessary.
The following materials have proved particularly successful for RF and
microwave applications:
Rogers: R0®4000 , RT/duroid®, TMM®, Ultralam®
A drilling base is essential for all machining processes on base material.
This allows holes to be drilled through the board without damaging the
machine.
The drilling base can be made simply of bakelized paper and should be
2 mm thick.