So, have a small project of making some custom pitch VERO/Strip boards in KiCad, seems to be fairly simple to set the grid to the rich pitch and slap on the holes then copper.
BUT…VERO has a milled channel between the copper as I assume it’s far quicker and cheaper to just mill off the copper than mask and etch it, but is there a way to denote partial milling akin to how we slap on V-cut markers? is this something fabs will even do, or is it just a case of sending lots of emails to find out who will do what?
No, It will be cheaper for you to let them do it their way which is setup for mass production.
PS: You might be thinking they could recover the copper from milling. But copper in the etch solution is more valuable to them and easier to recover. Plus all the valleys are etched “in parallel” whereas milling is a time-consuming step.
Unless your order is going to be very large, you are probably better using the manufacturers standard processes. I’d stick with laying down a grid of holes and then some tracks of appropriate width. This is one, rare and exceptional case where you are probably better off just starting in pcbnew without a schematic and use the highlight collision mode for the router. Lay down a rectangle on the soldermask layer to exclude mask from the board and a ‘keep out’ on the back copper. Custom milling is likely to cost more and need careful communication with the manufacturer as milling copper tends to lead to copper sticking to the router bit and increased risk of cutter breakages.
When you are ready to send your design files to a PCB fab, you should make sure to include detailed documentation that clearly specifies the milling requirements, including the thickness and location of the milling, as well as any other special instructions or requirements. You can also contact different fabs to inquire about their milling capabilities and whether they can accommodate your specific requirements. Some fabs may be able to perform partial milling, while others may not, so it is important to do your research and find a fab that can meet your needs.
Do not mislead people there is a common technology for everyone and they work according to the ipc standard for the production of printed circuit boards… Milling flexible boards, etc. It depends on the level of the factory they either may or may not…