Chucks for mini drill tools

Miniature drill tools are a must have for everyone who is making his own printed circuit boards (PCB) at home. Not limited to this, drill tools have many uses as rotary tools. Although the motors you will use for DIY tools have smaller power than a Dremel tool, some of the accessories can be used for small work. You can attach cutting discs, sanding, grinding, carving and polishing attachments. What works and what doesn’t depends on the motor you use, the type of drill chuck and the material you are using it on.

Building your own miniature rotary tool is usually cheaper than buying a Dremel tool. If you want something for PCB drilling only, the motor can be very small. And small motors are found in a lot of devices (do not expect to use a motor from a CD/DVD drive for this purpose, but motors from toys, old cassette players, hair dryers, printers, scanners etc. can drill a hole through a PCB). If you are lucky enough to have a motor from battery operated vacuum cleaner or drill machine (like the 775 motor), you can build something very powerful.

DC Motor Controller for PCB Drill

This is a simple circuit that can be use to vary the speed of a DC motor. It is very useful for controlling a PCB drill, but it can be used for whatever applications you want. The speed can vary from full to complete stop. The circuit is versatile and can be used with motors of different currents and voltages.

This circuit is widespread on the internet. Here is an example. The PWM signal is generated by a 555 chip. The chip drives a MOS-FET transistor that will switch the motor on and off. The 555 is powered from a 7805 regulator. Therefore, the motor DC voltage can be between 8 and 35 V (the circuit can be powered by AC 7...26 V). The maximum current is limited by MOS-FET.
The circuit shown here is designed to be AC powered by a mains transformer. But you can power it from a DC adapter, battery or even a computer power supply if you remove the diode bridge and connect the power lines straight to ground and positive pads, where the output pins of the bridge would otherwise fit.