This section of the guide shows how to micromanage LPKF CircuitPro so board production is not dependent upon the Board Production Wizard. This micromangement must be performed under the following circumstances:

• A board production phase was not sufficiently processed and needs to be redone in whole or in part.
• Board production phases need to be processed in an order other than the default order. (i.e. solder masked board)
• Changes to the board design are made before the board is finished.

Reprocessing a Toolpath

After the Drill Fiducials production phase has been performed by the Board Production Wizard, it is safe to exit the wizard and open the Toolpath Window from the View tab, as shown in Figure 6.1.1

Figure 6.1.1: Toolpath Window under the View tab.

The Toolpath Window, shown in Figure 6.1.2, has a folder which shows all of the production phases in default order. Expanding a production phase shows the toolpaths belonging to that phase.

Figure 6.1.2: List of Phases.

Select any number of toolpaths from the same phase and right click to make a drop down box appear as shown in Figure 6.1.3. Clicking the item called “Process Toolpath” will begin processing those toolpaths as if the Board Production Wizard was in control. Ensure that the base material is flipped the correct way before processing the toolpath.

Every phase with toolpaths is assigned to the top side or bottom side of the material. The Marking Drills, Drill Unplated, and Milling Bottom are assigned to the bottom side of the material, while the Milling Top and Contour Routing phases are assigned to the top side. If the toolpaths to be processed are on a side of the base material opposite that of the previously processed toolpath, a Read Fiducials (top or bottom) phase will automatically be processed first to align the board. Ensure that fiducials are read at least once after remounting the board. If the base material is moved between processes, CircuitPro will assume the board is still aligned unless a flip was required.

Every phase and toolpath may be processed in a custom order, with the following exceptions:

• The first four phases, Mount Material, Material Settings, Placement, and Drill Fiducial, must be processed before the other phases.
• The Marking Drills phase must be processed before the Drill Unplated phase.
• The Countour Routing phase should be processed last, unless very thick breakout tabs are used. Once the board is separated from the material where the fiducials are located, it is not possible to align the board anymore.
• In the Contour Routing phase, the drilling toolpaths should be processed before the routing toolpaths. This is because the contour router needs an insertion point before it can cut sideways.

Figure 6.1.3: Process Toolpath Command

Reprocessing an Element

Often times it is faster to inspect a board after a toolpath completes and correct individual errors, as opposed to reprocessing the entire toolpath. This most often is the case with the end mill tools. The end mills gradually wear down during processing and might fail to remove copper until the micrometer screw is adjusted.

To reprocess a specific part of a toolpath (called an element), go to the machining view, zoom in with the mouse well, and right click on a geometry, as shown in Figure 5.1.4. CircuitPro will then promt the user to insert the correct tool and/or adjust the milling width. Note that the selected element will be white, and every other element will have a color that matches the tool used to form it.

Figure 6.1.4: Processing an Individual Element