Depending on the layout you could definitely cut a v-score with a router. Ability of the machine to accomplish it isn't the issue. What's on the other side of the score line? Is the panelization board-to board? You need space on the on the non-score side of the bit. You'll also generate loads of dust and like any routed assembly, proper fixturing is vital to success.
That said, another respondent mentioned a pizza cutter being "...simple to use and easy to maintain so why change?". Both are true but it's not a set-it-and-forget-it process. The pizza cutter is potentially a dangerous process for nearby components- especially fine-featured SMT devices and their solder joints. You could fracture them without ever knowing it. A v-scored board should follow certain design rules to minimize the chance of this. Do yours? Because often times it's an after thought, driven by perceived cost savings. What's the board thickness? What angle is the score cut at? How far are the parts from the score? Are there tall parts in the vicinity? How tall and how close? These things all matter.
The impression that "anyone can do it" is part of what makes it so dangerous. We've scrapped boards on ours, and i bet you have as well. You don't just slap the board on and rip the blade across it. I wrote a 6-page document just this morning on how to safely depanel a v-scored board for a new customer. A very specific sequence is required (not always true, but in this case it is due to a very poor panelization scheme). Going out of sequence will result in ripped-off parts/pads at best, or scrap and a very unhappy new customer likely wondering why they gave their business to a company that can't even successfully operate a simple piece of equipment at worst.
It also altered the assembly process because connectors overhanging the score line have to be installed after depaneling. The scrap material that would normally be useful in the wave process (allowing the board to ride on the conveyor and also supporting parts that overhang the finished edge of the board- i.e. the v-score) now couldn't be there, meaning wave pallets are required. There are also several poorly-placed scored tabs requiring a manual operation to finish it up. Cost savings? Are those "savings" from buying wave pallets that shouldn't have been required or the extra, out-of-the-normal-sequence processing steps- to include hand-soldering about a dozen SMT parts- that shouldn't have been required? These things all could have been avoided with proper panelization using tabs, and the lower cost would've been passed on to the customer.
Only our certified depanel operators (includes pizza cutter, our router, and manual depaneling methods) are allowed to touch our pizza cutter. It's kept locked-up because, again, people think it's a no brainer: "i'll just take my board over there and cut it".
After manually breaking boards apart, the pizza cutter is the next worst thing. My official recommendation to our customers is tab routing- preferably with our input on panel design. It's by far the safest, lowest-stress method (aside from laser) and i recommend it even when we see tabs with mouse bites. Yeah, it costs the customer a little more up front for fixturing and programming but it's worth it. I'll never recommend v-score or manual, but those are realities that sometimes need to be dealt with because in the customer's mind- "You can just break it manually- it's easy, isn't it?" Perhaps, but is it good for the board?
If it were me and the layout allows, i'd use your router, but see whether you can get the panel redesigned with tabs, be they solid or mousebites. Unless yours is a simple, low technology board or one that was laid out with a pizza cutter in mind (and by that i don't mean: "we can save a few bucks by using v-score"), you and your customers will be better off in the long run. Good luck!
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Hi Team Members,
I am a PCBA manufacturing assy process, w...
- Nov 03, 2022
by
Umar
You can get a router with a saw blade to handle v-score, but...
- Nov 03, 2022
by
dontfeedphils
