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Unlike a PCB order from a normal [PCB house] PCBs on the PCB Mill are made by isolating the desired trace from the plate of copper (known as the "copper clad"). This can cause problems because according to your design there is only a thin trace of copper between any 2 points amongst a sea of essentially nothing (more specifically nothing conductive that would get in the way). With the isolation method that the PCB Mill uses, you have to make sure that your layout program of choice knows that there is copper everywhere else. Otherwise components will end up shorted together.
| Warning |
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Always mill BOTH sides of the PCB layout. Even if you have only 1 signal layer. If you leave the "other" side of the copper un-milled, the leads of your components will be shorted together by the large, unisolated copper plane that is on the back. ALWAYS isolate the pads on the reverse side of your PCB....it may not look like the leads will short but they inevitably come into contact with the un-milled copper plane. |
Dealing with no Plated Through Holes
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