The Authority on Emerging Technologies for Design Solutions 12.01.05 www.elecdesign.com

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Electronic Design engineerscast their votes on themost popular Leapfrogarticle of this year and...insert drum roll here...the winner is LPKF Laserand Electronics’ low-cost,

S62 circuit-board plotter(Fig. 1). Not only is the article

popular (“Build A Board In-House Without TheMess,” March 31, p. 39, ED Online 9984), but theLPKF Laser and Electronics’ webcast covering theS62 was and remains a very popular session.

The desktop S62 is a 3D milling machine designedto create pc boards. Its 10-tool autochanger enables itto handle a wide range of jobs (Fig. 2). The plotter’smilling head travels at 150 mm/s, and the high-per-formance spindle motor ratchets up to 62,000 rpm.Also, its Z-axis movement permits depth in RFdesigns as well as very flexible modifications to non-pc-board materials (such as covers, photomasks, andlabels).

According to LPKF’s North American sales managerJim Greene, the S62s are rolling off the assembly lineto customers as fast as the company can make them.

LEAPFROG: FIRST LOOKPUTTING NEW TECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE

^ ^ ^

LPKF’s ProtoMat S62 desktop milling machine exceedsdesigners’ expectations with its mini learning curve coupled with low cost and fast turnaround.

BUILD YOUR OWN PC BOARD:A DESIGNER’S DREAM

William Wong /// EMBEDDED/SYSTEMS/SOFTWARE EDITOR

1. The ProtoMat S62’s high-speed platter can create pcboards in addition to milling a range of other materials forcreating front panels, housings, and other components.

Jaalaa is a fabless semiconduc-tor company that delivers completewireless solutions using chips likeits KillerBee-HID (Human InterfaceDevice) and KillerBee-XR (eXtendedRange) series. Imraan Ahmed, vicepresident of operations, choseLPKF’s solution to help Jaalaa turnout two to three custom boards perday. A board fits into Jaalaa’s cus-tomers’ supplied packaging, whereit is immediately tested and verified.

Jaalaa’s customers then can usethe design for mass production.

In-house board creation enablesJaalaa to provide minimum turn-around time in addition to keepingcosts down. This allows the com-pany’s customers to get their prod-uct out the door quickly with thelatest technology. It’s the trend ofthe future.

Jaalaa Inc. • www.jaalaa.comED Online 11534

This board has been designed for awireless mouse set.

TWO TO THREE CUSTOM JOBS A DAY!

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Thanks to their $18,900 price tag,units can find homes in organiza-tions that couldn’t afford this typeof technology in the past.

WHY IS IT SO POPULAR? • Manyusers cite the unit’s fast turnaroundas its key advantage (see “Two ToThree Custom Jobs A Day,” below,“Prototyping At The University OfNew Brunswick,” p. 90, and“Building PC Boards In BritishColumbia,” p. 92 ). This featurehad a major impact on numerousdesign aspects because it’s nowpossible to crank out a new designas it’s developed. The S62 alsomakes incremental changes, fixes,or enhancements practical. Test,

debug, refine can now bethe mantra for bothboard development andsoftware.

The ability to quick-ly create a singleboard means thatdevelopers can verifytheir design beforemaking additionalboards. This avoidswasted boards when amajor design defect isfound. Even minor fixescan be easily accommo-dated.

When it comes to media, manydesigners are starting to appreci-ate flexibility. The S62 can cut

photomasks, pockets inmicrowave boards, covers forboxes (including holes for sock-ets), and much more.

Most S62 users are experiment-ing with these features, which canenable them to create customizedboards and boxes for individualprojects. This is in contrast to pc-board houses, which are set up tomake dozens of identical boardsper run. These houses still play apart for many S62 users becausethey do excel in volume productioncompared to the S62. You won’tmake thousands of identicalboards with the S62, but a dozenor more is well within the in-housebreak-even point.

PLAYING IT CLOSE TO THE VEST •In-house pc-board creation isn’tnew. But it was never cleaner andas inexpensive as with the S62.Moreover, developers can keepcontrol of a design. The CIA andNSA aren’t the only organizationsthat will restrict access to a board.

Proprietary intellectual proper-ty (IP) is often the centerpiece of acompany’s product design, andthis is often embodied in the pcboard. The S62 simplifies securitymanagement, because physicalsecurity is typical within thisworkplace.

The S62 also has other implica-tions when combined with the fidu-cial recognition camera used for

Higher educational research oftendemands repeated creation of newand improved prototypes. TheInstitute of Biomedical Engineeringat the University of New Brunswick,Fredericton, N.B., Canada, has a longhistory in the research and clinicalaspects of advanced myoelectriccontrols systems for artificial limbs,and it’s recognized worldwide forthis work.

“The design and fabrication ofprototypes is a key element of muchof this research, and it is here thatwe utilize the Protomat S62,” sayschief technologist John Hayden. Helooked to the S62 because of theincreasing demands placed onboard production by surface-mountcomponents. He also indicated thatsome designs were using the mini-mum isolation width to keep boardsize to a minimum.

Research that uses RF layout forwireless bio sensors will be one of theprojects tackled in the near future.

Institute of BiomedicalEngineering, University of NewBrunswick

www.unb.ca/biomed ED Online 11535

1. John Hayden, chief technologistwith the Institute of BiomedicalEngineering, depends on theProtoMat S62 to create prototypeboards that serve as myoelectric con-trol systems for artificial limbs.

PROTOTYPING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK

2. This tiny, odd-sized, double-sidedcircuit board goes inside a prostheticelectric hand. The board must besmall enough to fit within the limitedspace inside the device. Componentsand cables are mounted on both sidesof the board.

2. The ProtoMat S62’s 10-bit auto changer permitscontinuous, automatic operation with a host of tools.

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repeated operations on a pc boardor other material. The ability to addmore circuitry to an existing boardenables delivery of custom boards,depending on the application andbuyer. A supply of partially config-ured boards can be updated easilyusing the S62. Likewise, a boardconsumer could use an S62 to add

circuitry to a virgin part of a pcboard.

EASIER THAN IT LOOKS? • S62users discover that there’s a shortlearning curve. Not even sophisti-cated and very compact designscan hold back novices. If the pc-board design software can gener-

ate it, then the S62 usually is ableto comply.

Developers can push the sizelimits of their design becausethere’s little cost to trying out adesign. A newer, more compactdesign only requires a pc-boarddesign change and a new boardfrom the S62.

Because operating the S62requires minimal training, virtuallyanyone can handle the job of actu-ally setting up and running theunit. Of course, developers love toget their hands on it because theydon’t have to wait for someone elseto configure the system. Unfortu-nately, they often must wait in linedue to the units’ popularity amongother groups within their ownorganization. Luckily, it’s easy tohide the S62. It’s self-contained,small, and quiet. Just attach a PCvia a USB cable to drive it.

Milling pc boards isn’t new.Units that are larger and moreexpensive than the S62 have beenavailable for years, many fromLPKF. But the price, size, and easeof use cause S62 users to make aquantum leap to change how theydesign and what designs they canconsider.

The ProtoMat S62 has provento be extremely popular. However,you can be on the lookout foranother soon-to-arrive unit fromLPKF Laser and Electronics—theless expensive S42 forgoes the toolauto-changer, which isn’t alwaysrequired.

LPKF Laser and Electronicswww.lpkfusa.com ED Online 11537

●●● FIRST LOOK / PC-BOARD PROTOTYPE SYSTEM

Gregory Industrial Computer Ltd.(GIC) develops computer systemsand command centers for the for-est and lumber industries in thecentral and northern regions ofBritish Columbia.

“Ultimately, the automated toolchanging was what made it [S62]more attractive than other options,but the multilayer board potential aswell as operational flexibility werealso factors and, of course, price,”says GIC manager Greg Ford. “I cansay that the learning curve was a loteasier than I had feared.”

GIC engineer Chris Nicol takesgreat joy in seeing how much moretightly packed he can make eachrevision or new board he designs. “Ihave not been disappointed yet,”he says.

One of GIC’s most recent pcboards utilizes a Freescale 9S12microcontroller in addition to anumber of surface-mount compo-nents. Even viewed under a micro-scope, the circuits and pads thatare generated by the ProtoMatS62 are sharp and crisp.

ED Online 11536

BUILDING PC BOARDS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

3. Members of the S62 DevelopmentTeam in Garbsen, Germany.

Copyright © 2005 by Penton Media, Inc.

Germany (Headquarters) LPKF Laser & Electronics AG Osteriede 7 30827 Garbsen GERMANY Phone +49-5131-7095-0 Fax +49-5131-7095-90 E-mail lpkf@lpkf.de Web info www.lpkf.com

UK/IrelandLPKF Laser & Electronics LtdCoppid Beech Lane, WokinghamBerkshire, RG40 1PDGREAT BRITAINPhone +44-1344-45046Fax +44-1344-860547 E-maill sales@lpkf.co.ukWeb info www.lpkf.co.uk

North AmericaLPKF Laser & Electronics 28220 SW Boberg Rd PO Box 3858 Wilsonville, OR 97070 USA Phone +1-503-454-4200 Fax +1-503-682-7151 E-mail info@lpkfusa.com Web info www.lpkfusa.com

JapanLPKF Japan C., LtdZip 151-00535-37-6 Yoyogi, Shibuya-kuTokyo JAPANPhone +81-3-34657105 Fax +81-3-34676159E-mail info@lpkf.co.jpWeb info www.lpkf.co.jp

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