Need some help wrangling mill-outlines.ulp please!

pferrick · ‎05-18-2020

Hi all-

I'd love to be able to 'mechanically etch' circuit boards within Fusion 360, or at least through Eagle (I have a standalone version (9.5) running also.)

With a very simple test board (the first picture), I get something reminiscent of its outline, but no matter what parameters I tweak it insists on milling away what appears to be ALL the copper that isn't the one trace! What I was expecting was a trace around only the pads and the connecting trace.

One of the (many!) things I don't understand about the ulp is that it produces gcode WITH pad outlines, even though it allows a choice of layer 1, 16 or both...but not 17 (pads).

I've included a shot of the parameters as I have them set. One of the issues may be that I have adjusted the ulp in order o generate gcode that linuxcnc likes. However, I don't think any of the changes I've made have anything to do with the modifications I've made (famous last words, I know!).

I'm kinda hoping that someone with a lot more experience than me with this ulp can look at what I'm getting and spot something obviously dumb that I'm doing.

Thanks in advance,

Pat

everettac · ‎05-18-2020

I can’t say for certain that you can’t do only outlines through the ULP, but you should be able to create a polygon fill that the ULP will then leave unmilled. A simple rectangular polygon that encompasses the whole board should do the trick.