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CopperKit

Turn circuit designs into PCBs with the right tool for your desktop CNC. Use micro end mills, V-bits, or stationary scribers with automatic probing and tuning.

Join the beta! Check compatibility
Windows, Mac, Linux Direct from KiCad or Eagle files GRBL or grblHAL

Copper removal for every machine

Match the tool to the machine.

CopperKit supports the practical forms of mechanical copper removal used across desktop CNC machines: micro end mills, sturdy V-bits, and stationary carbide scribers.

Start with the tool your machine can hold accurately. CopperKit controls the machine directly, probes the real board, finds settings that work for the tool and material, and remembers them as reusable recipes.

Micro end mills Sharp tools of 0.5 mm or less are a dependable choice for lightweight machines. The diameter must fit within the board's minimum isolation spacing.
Sturdy V-bits A practical option across many desktop machines. Cutting width changes with depth, so probing and surface mapping are especially useful.
Carbide scribers As machine rigidity improves, inexpensive scriber-pen tips become a fast, clean option with the spindle switched off.
A micro end mill, V-bit, and several carbide scriber tips arranged together.
One workflow, several valid tools. Sharpness, tool size, runout, and machine rigidity matter more than choosing a single universal bit.
The pointed tool that looks like an end mill is a stationary carbide scriber. The spindle is not turning during these passes; the clip also shows CopperKit's probing step.
Close view of a finished CopperKit adapter board showing fine isolated traces, pads, mask, and silkscreen.
Finished front: isolated traces, exposed pads, and board markings.
Reverse side of a finished CopperKit adapter board showing routed traces, pads, mask, and silkscreen.
The same board from the reverse side.

Rotary copper removal, drilling, and board-edge cutting require normal CNC dust control. Stationary scriber passes remain the cleanest option when the machine is rigid enough.

Electrical feedback

Measure the board, not just the machine.

A simple continuity probe lets CopperKit find the copper surface, map real board height, verify electrical isolation, and tune tool settings from measured results.

A compact CopperKit continuity probe, shown from both sides with a quarter for scale.

The working surface

Everything the board needs, in view.

Board geometry, ordered operations, machine position, direct controls, commands, and status stay together in one focused workspace.

CopperKit workspace showing a loaded board, ordered operations, machine controls, command entry, and status log.
CopperKit beta with a KiCad board loaded. Machine motion remains unavailable until a controller is connected.

What CopperKit does

Board creation with feedback built in.

The beta is focused on validating real machines, real board designs, and repeatable recipes with people who can report what actually happens on the bench.

Flexible copper removal

Isolate traces with a micro end mill, sturdy V-bit, or stationary carbide scriber chosen to suit the machine.

Direct machine control

Connect once and let CopperKit guide probing, alignment, copper removal, drilling, and board release from one workflow.

Dynamic tuning

Automatically test, narrow, and remember settings that match the board, tool, and machine.

Alignment and height mapping

Place the design on usable stock, probe the surface, and avoid complicated jigs for ordinary one-off boards.

Board-aware contours

Generate the correct contours for traces, silkscreen, solder-mask openings, drills, and board outlines.

One- and two-sided boards

Start with simpler single-sided prototypes, then validate flipped two-sided work with explicit alignment steps.

Early workflow

From design file to working board.

CopperKit is not trying to be a giant CAM suite. It is a focused machine-side path for people who want a board on the bench quickly.

  1. Load Open KiCad or Eagle board files and inspect the board outline, copper, drills, mask, and silkscreen.
  2. Connect Read machine settings, understand the controller state, and flag compatibility issues before motion.
  3. Tune Use small calibration coupons and continuity checks to find reliable parameters for the current tool and setup.
  4. Create Align, height-map, machine the copper, inspect, drill, and release the board while CopperKit adjusts as needed.

Machine compatibility

From entry-level to rigid desktop CNC.

CopperKit supports every level of desktop CNC by adapting the copper-removal method to the machine. Lightweight machines can begin with rotating tools; more rigid machines can take advantage of fast, dust-free scriber passes.

GRBL or grblHAL

Current testing supports serial-connected, three-axis machines running GRBL 1.1 or grblHAL with standard probing behavior.

Continuity probe

A simple tool-to-copper continuity probe is required for Z probing, surface mapping, and electrical checks.

A sharp, correctly sized tool

Use a micro end mill small enough for the design, a rigid V-bit, or a carbide scriber suited to the machine.

A stable setup

Secure the board, minimize runout and play, and let height mapping account for the copper surface before cutting.

Choose the removal method, not a machine class. Micro end mills are often the most forgiving starting point on very light machines. V-bits are a sturdy middle ground. On a rigid machine, a stationary carbide scriber is faster, quiet, and produces no milling dust during copper isolation.
A PCB test pattern being cut with a 0.5 mm end mill on a sub-$200 CNC. It proves the low-cost path is viable; a more rigid machine and a non-rotating scriber can produce a faster, cleaner workflow.

Software and process

A guided app, plus shop notes.

The app keeps machine calibration close to the next real board, then carries that context through front- and back-side work.

CopperKit Trace Tuning dialog showing a guided coupon search over tool depth and contour spacing.
Tune from evidence. Compact coupons narrow the settings for the current copper, tool, and machine.
CopperKit workspace showing the mirrored back side of a two-sided PCB and its corresponding origin.
Keep both sides coherent. Mirrored geometry and the correct origin remain visible when the board is flipped.
Software tour See the CopperKit flow Load, connect, tune, align, surface-map, create, inspect, and finish. Tips and tricks Board-making notes in order Cleaning, probing, tuning, copper removal, continuity checks, drilling, and edge release.
The blue 555 timer board with exposed copper pads and white component markings.

Tutorials

One board. The whole process.

Follow a single-sided 555 timer PCB from CopperKit setup through trace isolation, solder mask, drilling, and a solder-paste stencil.

Seven parts, a supplies list, and a printable workbench reference. Videos are being prepared for publication.

Explore the tutorial

AI-ready foundation

Built on a novel numeric system.

CopperKit is connected to the Gojo numeric system: a way of representing board structure, machine state, tuning evidence, and workflow decisions as inspectable numeric relationships rather than one-off symbolic cases.

That matters because future AI assistance should be able to reason about what the machine, board, and process are doing, not just paste generic advice beside the job.

Beta signup

Help validate CopperKit on real machines.

The current goal is to collect beta users and compatibility data across machines, controllers, operating systems, and board styles.

Invited testers can use their private link on the beta download page.

Follow progress at @debreuil.