Ablative process for printed circuit board technology

A method for uniformly projecting a predetermined pattern onto a substantially nonplanar substrate having a three dimensionally curved surface, the substantially nonplanar substrate having a plurality of elements which form the predetermined pattern, comprising the steps of:

• positioning the three dimensionally curved surface substantially normal to an optical path of a coherent light source;
• directing light from the coherent light source along the optical path and through a reticle;
• ablating a portion of the three dimensionally curved surface of the substantially nonplanar substrate, corresponding to an element of the predetermined pattern, with the coherent light source and the reticle, the reticle being located sufficiently distant from the three dimensionally curved surface to prevent ablated material from interfering with the reticle;
• inspecting the ablated portion of the three dimensionally curved surface;
• and
• displacing the three dimensionally curved surface relative to the coherent light source in two degrees of rotational freedom and along one or more linear axes, in order to position another portion of the three dimensionally curved surface substantially normal to the optical path of the coherent light source;
• wherein the directing, ablating, inspecting and displacing steps are repeated until the predetermined pattern is complete.