Custom PCB for Overhead Camera

This is my tutorial in making an overhead camera for my CNC although you could use this for doing any kind of time-lapse filming if you wanted. It lights up to tell you you're running and it blinks when it's taking pictures.
If you have a CNC you can follow the directions exactly even if you don't have a Shapeoko. GRBL files will work fine with any CNC.

If you don't have a CNC, you can still follow along but instead of having a CNC do it, you have to send it to a PCB manufacturer and wait some time.

5mm LEDs - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12903

Resistors - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15754

SPDT Slide Switch - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9609

PCB milling kit - https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/materials/products/pcb-machining-kit?variant=41237724742

Shapeoko 3 - https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/machines/products/shapeoko3?variant=31527638401085

Raspberry Pi Zero W - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14277

Raspberry Pi Zero Camera - amazon

Standoffs

MDF

I wanted to create a overhead camera rig to place over my CNC so I could make a time-lapse video for some of the longer CNC projects. I wrote a script in python and used a raspberry pi with a camera board attached. It took a picture every second and that way, I could use all the pictures and make a time-lapse video. It worked alright but I never knew when it was running and didn't have any way to start and stop it without going online with the raspberry pi and starting and stopping the script.

I figured I would add some LEDs that would show when it's running, if there's some sort of error and when each picture is being taken as well as a switch to start and stop the script.

Using Autocad Eagle, I made a quick schematic and then it was time to make the board.

Using a CNC to mill your PCB is surprisingly easy to do. The only downside is that you're limited to two layers (I only used one) and the routes have to be very large. Mine were 50 mil and it probably would have been easier if they were 75 mil or so. Besides that, making the layout was pretty easy because there were only 8 components total to this board. I knew I was going to make it on a 3x2 inch PCB so the free version of AutoCad Eagle was fine for this project. See the video for exporting the files for carbide copper.

Carbide Copper is a free online tool made by the same people who make Carbide Create or Carbide Motion. They have a lot of resources and I encourage anyone who is interested in CNC's to look at them. I'm not sponsored or anything, I just wanted to make CNC projects and also make PCBs and they're like the only people who come up.
They have a tutorial on using Carbide Copper. The only things to note is that I did bottom side only, 2x3 inch PCB, and the largest drill hole size was the one I used because that allows all the 0.1" headers to fit in easily.

If you've used a CNC then this part is very similar to CNC-ing any other piece. The drill bit is very small and it's split into two steps. If you have a bit setter for your CNC, it comes in handy for this project because of how small the PCB is.

See the pictures for the bits I used. This was a bad PCB. The wire ways have a copper trace that should be in the exact center of each run. For the PCB in the video above, I had to take a piece of wire to replace a section that got destroyed in the milling process

Additional files that you need are located on my GitHub. Link is here:

https://github.com/amerch92/CNC-Camera