After getting involved in PCB Fabrication and making several PCB's at home, I found a need to a have a bench drill that I could use to drill straight 1.5mm holes, fast. Using a twist drill would get the job done but it would take a lot of time, especially if the circuit had a large number of components being used. Hence, I decided to design and build this PCB drill, which uses a mini dremel-type rotary tool with an attached chuck as the drill machine. The whole frame for the drill has been designed and developed by me, using inspiration from common household hardware for the functionality.
One of the main features about this drill is that a commonly available drawer channel has been used to facilitate the vertical motion of the drill. This allowed for a cost-effective, yet efficient solution for the drill, while also being unique in its own way.
For the return back mechanism of the drill, a spring obtained from an old car's carburetor has been used.
For additional functionality, I added some white LED strips at the bottom to act as work-piece illumination lights. This is particularly helpful when drilling in dim environments, or when the PCB is particularly small in size. To switch ON/OFF the lights, a switch has been mounted on the side, which mimics the 'control panel' found in bigger, industrial drill presses.
At the back, an old AC-DC adapter has been utilized for converting the mains 220V AC to a more safe, 12V DC. The housing of the adapter was damaged so the adapter was secured on the back with insulation all around to prevent electrocution.
The Wooden Base and the 'Table'
The side posts, which support the entire vertical drill mechanism
The back board on which the drill and drawer channel is mounted
Profile view of the drill
p.s. it poses well for the camera ;)