Software Version: 1.0.0 - The Drill Update

[jazozaya]

Hey everybody!

To complement the launch of the V-One Drill, version 1.0.0 of the software has been released, it includes plenty of changes that will benefit all V-One users. Read on to learn more!

The Drill Procedure

We are excited to add a brand new drilling procedure. Just like the other procedures, the drill workflow will guide the user every step of the way and includes plenty of pictures and videos.

We have changed our recommended procedure for double sided circuits. The new procedure is:

1. Drill the first layer
2. Print & bake the first layer
3. Print & bake the bottom layer
4. Use rivets to connect the top and bottom layers.

Don’t worry - if you don’t have the V-One Drill, you can still use rivets to make vias or through hole connections. We offer them as single items in our store. Over the next couple of days we’ll be updating our documentation to reflect this.

“My probe fell in a hole” - said everyone

The situation is familiar - you are trying to probe a board that has holes (either printing a double sided board or dispensing paste on a fabbed board) when all of a sudden the probe falls into a hole.

In the best case scenario, the probe trips on a hole by detaching itself from the carriage and the V-One stops safely. In the worse case scenario, the probe tip wrecks havoc on your board & scratches it up. Both options suck and can lead to broken nozzles if not detected.

Before the v1.0.0 release, the algorithm to determine probe points loosely speaking was as follows:

1. The Software picked a set of points on the board for the Probe
2. The Probe hoped one of those points wasn’t a hole.
3. The V-One would start probing, and the Probe would fall in a hole.

With version 1.0.0, we have added some smarts to the probing algorithm. First, the software will try to avoid picking holes in the first place. Second, if there are still vias / through-holes that need to be probed, the system will measure a couple of points around the perimeter that are 250 microns away from the diameter of the hole.

Take a look at the picture below. Before, the old probing point (yellow) would be far too close to the edge of the hole and could easily fall in, moreover, we did not have any nearby points we could fallback to.

Now we will probe a couple of points (green), and if one of them falls in a hole it will be detected and discarded. To be extra safe, the probe will raise all the way for the first 3 points as it determines what a safe raise height is.

The result? The total probing time will be a bit longer, but your probe and nozzles will be safe. Please thank @troy for making this happen!

Measure Once, Align Twice

Once you have completed an alignment procedure (teaching it 2 pads), the software will now remember the position of your board. Later, if you need to realign the same circuit, the software will ask if you want to keep your old alignment. Of course, this only works if you do not move the board between alignments.

Why is this useful? Two key reasons:

• When switching from one workflow to the other. i.e - Drilling into Printing.
• If your job is interrupted by a meeting or lunch, or if the app crashes and you have to reboot - you can jump back into it.

Interface Update

A ‘raw’ version of the Gerber file will now be shown behind the toolpaths, it is the faint copper outline seen below. By overlaying the v-one toolpaths on the raw Gerbers it will make debugging file loading issues a bit easier. Problematic geometries should become evident.

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That’s it for now - let us know what you think!

[Scanner]

Hm… after a bunch of tries the ‘Reuse Alignment’ option never shows up. I have to re-position with the probe every time (even with v1.1.0 of the software.) B-/

This is on OSX (High Sierra, 10.13.3)

[Pyrophreek]

Awesome work, was very impressed with the drill module I tested in the beta, and looking forward to the development of more features in the future.

Very happy that you are implementing the recover position option, that is a very useful feature, coming from someone who frequently had to realign due to various interruptions. Out of curiousity, is the alignment being stored on the machine? or in the software? or both?

Any updates on Routing?

[Steven_Hines]

I’ve also had this problem. I just started a PCB project from the beginning: drilled holes with a gerber and holes file, then after multiple drilling passes, went over to do an aligned print. Selected the same files I used for drilling, but no prompt to re-use alignment

[troy]

Hey guys,
The “use last” feature has a bug that prevents the button from showing up when transitioning from Drill to Print. Right now, it only works within a procedure, so if you Print, align, exit (for some reason) then trying printing again you will see the option.

Fixing this bug is on the list for the next release, which is scheduled for next week. There’s a chance that a higher priority bug (one that needs to be fixed and release asap) may bump the fix, barring that, you’ll see something relatively soon.

@Pyrophreek the alignment is stored on disk (so you can restart the app it you need too) in with other voltera app data in a timestamped directory. The file has the word alignment in it if you want to look.

A quick note: There is an age limit on reusing the alignment (limit is 2 days). If that trips anybody up let me know. I wanted some sort of limit and asking for a re-align after 2 days seemed reasonable to me…i.e. can you really guarantee the circuit has not shifted after 2 days. Increasing the age beyond 2d seems more likely to permit subtle errors than to accelerate success.

[troy]

Hey all,
Just released 1.2.0. It fixes the bug that prevented re-use of the last alignment, but i forgot to include that in the release notes.

Other key fixes include:

• The ‘NEXT’ button being disabled in probe step (which would happen if you re-probe).
• a few fixes to gerber loading

[Steven_Hines]

Just went through and drilled holes then tried to do an aligned print with the same Gerber and Holes file used for drilling, and I didn’t get a prompt to re-use alignment (v1.2.0).

Edit to add:

1. Even though I wasn’t offered Re-use Alignment, it turned out the alignment was still stored: the first “move to feature” was perfectly aligned with the chosen feature, as was the next. When I tested alignment, everything matched.

2. When I went flipped the board to print the other side, I first selected “Load Last…” which loaded the Gerber and holes files for the top. Then I selected the Gerber file and replaced it with the Gerber for the bottom of the board. When I went on to the alignment phase, I was offered the ability to re-use my last alignment, presumably from the print of the top.

In any case, I wasn’t able to get the bottom aligned; the probe was perfectly centered with the first hole chosen (a .7mm via) and the second hole (also a .7mm via): the probe went dead center into both holes, top and bottom. But when I tried to test alignment, all of the holes were misaligned either to the left or right. I finally gave up and printed, but the final print was misaligned by almost a millimeter.

[troy]

Thanks for the details!

1. Sounds like the [Reuse Alignment] / [Realign] buttons didn’t show (bug), but the alignment was being used.

Unless the board was just really close to center. Still there’d be a bug since the alignment should be used.

I looked at the code an couldn’t see the bug. Can you submit a support package…I’ll need to check logs to figure this one out.

2. That’s a path I did not considered. the code that decides if you can reuse does consider the side of the board, and changing files does re-run that code, but the reusing-last-alignment flag only gets set on a positive decision (ie. it does not get reset on file change or on a negative result). Thanks for finding this! added to list for next release

Using the top alignment for the bottom you could get what you are describing, depends on the hole positions.

[Steven_Hines]

Sure, will do. I’ve got another rev of the board ready to drill / print tomorrow; I’ll submit a support package if I don’t see the re-use alignment prompt.

[Steven_Hines]

Ok, I just repeated the process and the same thing happened:

• Start with Drill -> Simple
  • “Load last” loads the top-layer Gerber and Drill file together
  • Verify board outline then probe heights
  • Print 3 sets of holes of different sizes
• Go to Print -> Aligned
  • Select the same top-layer Gerber and Drill files used in the Drill process, but separately through the file dialog instead of through “Load last”
  • Prompted to clean contacts, etc., then brought directly to “Move to first feature”
  • As with the last time, the features/holes were, in fact, already perfectly aligned, so the alignment was stored/reused, I just wasn’t prompted for it.

I’ll submit a support package after I’m done printing/baking this PCB.

[Steven_Hines]

I can confirm now that the re-use alignment definitely is not offered. I’ve drilled and printed 5 more boards since my last post, and I’m never offered the ability to re-use an alignment. I used to at least have it in the state where it was actually already aligned even if it didn’t offer. Now I’m not seeing that either.

Interestingly, after I print the top Gerber (which is the side I drill with), when I go back to print the bottom Gerber (after removing, flipping, baking, etc). I am then offered “re-use alignment”, which of course isn’t useful anymore.

I drill 5 different hole sizes on my boards. And I select “Load last…” when I drill, but when I print I have to select the Top gerber and drill files (both the same as I used when drilling)

[troy]

Hey Steven,
Thanks for the update (and all the other bug reports).

Can you submit a support ticket (envelope in the top right of the app) and include your gerbers? The feature works for me so the best path forward for me is to reproduce. The feature does rely on the circuit so perhaps your gerbers will reveal the bug.

Thanks!

[Steven_Hines]

Ok, just happened again . Just sent a support package, right after the app failed to prompt me for re-use alignment and asked me to seek to the first feature.

[troy]

Hey Steven,
I believe mike sent you an update directly, but for others who may be seeing this issue…
I looked at your logs and it looks like you are doing a simple drill then an aligned print. I don’t save the alignment from simple drill, I’ve fixed that and the fix will be in the next release. In the meantime, you can try an Aligned Drill followed by an Aligned Print.

FYI: The bugs popping up right now highlight some weaknesses in our testing strategy so I’m holding off on releasing until more integration tests are written.