Electrical Engineering V2 - Developers

I've wanted to make a PCB for a while now but I've got no reason to.

[QUOTE=Leestons;43339194]I've wanted to make a PCB for a while now but I've got no reason to.[/QUOTE] Making the PCB is the reason. It catapults your skill forward immensely.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43339643]Making the PCB is the reason. It catapults your skill forward immensely.[/QUOTE] I understand I could learn loads from it but I want more reason to, like it needs a practical purpose.

[QUOTE=Leestons;43340079]I understand I could learn loads from it but I want more reason to, like it needs a practical purpose.[/QUOTE] Make a development board for a microcontroller.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43340512]Make a development board for a microcontroller.[/QUOTE] Seems a bit advanced for me. I wouldn't have a clue where to start. Sorry for being a bit of a pain in the arse.

[QUOTE=Leestons;43340079]I understand I could learn loads from it but I want more reason to, like it needs a practical purpose.[/QUOTE] The only reason you really need is any given project that needs a board. After a few projects on perf-board or no board at all, being able to make your own PCB is a silky luxury. (A sweet sweet luxury that I have not tried myself, but often dream about.)

[QUOTE=Leestons;43341012]Seems a bit advanced for me. I wouldn't have a clue where to start. Sorry for being a bit of a pain in the arse.[/QUOTE] Start by putting a microcontroller onto a pcb, and then add a powersupply, and then a convenient way to make it talk to your computer (rs232 or USB). Don't forget a connector for a programming header.

I might actually go and design a PCB for my own "RC" controller thingy, as I've been wanting to make one. Perhaps I could also make a PCB for my rover platform. What software do you use to design a PCB layout and which company manufactures send PCB's? [editline]29th December 2013[/editline] I got a lot of ideas for PCB's actually :v:

If you wish to make PCB's, I'd recommend making one-off's at home. For me, it costs around $0.16 per square inch. oshpark is $5 per square inch plus you have to wait for them to come in the mail. The disadvantages of homemade, though, are: No plated through holes. Although those are nice to have, you can use big SMD components and not worry about drilling or plating holes. Otherwise, just design without those. No ENIG finish. Honestly, Its not even necessary on a home-made board since the copper is fresh and unoxidized, if you wish to keep the board and solder it later, just don't clean the photoresist off. No solder mask. Sure, the boards do look ugly without solder mask, but really, you will not have any difficulty soldering even TSSOP packages. To protect the copper from corroding you can use polyurethane coating or just cover it in rosin flux ( thats what I do ). So making one-off boards at home is really the way to roll.

[QUOTE=alexaz;43343891]If you wish to make PCB's, I'd recommend making one-off's at home. For me, it costs around $0.16 per square inch. oshpark is $5 per square inch plus you have to wait for them to come in the mail. The disadvantages of homemade, though, are: No plated through holes. Although those are nice to have, you can use big SMD components and not worry about drilling or plating holes. Otherwise, just design without those. No ENIG finish. Honestly, Its not even necessary on a home-made board since the copper is fresh and unoxidized, if you wish to keep the board and solder it later, just don't clean the photoresist off. No solder mask. Sure, the boards do look ugly without solder mask, but really, you will not have any difficulty soldering even TSSOP packages. To protect the copper from corroding you can use polyurethane coating or just cover it in rosin flux ( thats what I do ). So making one-off boards at home is really the way to roll.[/QUOTE] It also has a higher setup cost. You ideally need a suitable drill, a set of the right chemicals, and then a way to dispose of them. In addition to that either a laser printer or a UV exposure box.

[QUOTE=ben1066;43345089]It also has a higher setup cost. You ideally need a suitable drill, a set of the right chemicals, and then a way to dispose of them. In addition to that either a laser printer or a UV exposure box.[/QUOTE] Here I paid $1.82 for a liter of 30% hydrochloric acid and $4.77 for 5 liters of 35% hydrogen peroxide. It is not necessary to dispose of the solution as it is re-usable, however you can add aluminum foil and it will be fine to flush down the drain. If you don't have a laser printer you can still have them printed by friends or copy shops.

I've found the easiest way to create PCB's is to get a piece of copper clad and drill the PCB Layout on using a CADCAM machine, if you don't have access to a CADCAM machine then it's not really ideal - but it's quite good if you do have access to one.

I'm paying 20$ for 5cm x 5cm boards at hackvana.com . You get 10 boards, too. And they're pretty good quality, non of that itead crap.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43346235]I'm paying 20$ for 5cm x 5cm boards at hackvana.com . You get 10 boards, too. And they're pretty good quality, non of that itead crap.[/QUOTE] The board Chryseus posted on the last page was made by itead, nothing wrong with them.

[QUOTE=ddrl46;43346361]The board Chryseus posted on the last page was made by itead, nothing wrong with them.[/QUOTE] Yeah, because the traces are huge. Try making some finer pitched stuff.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43346433]Yeah, because the traces are huge. Try making some finer pitched stuff.[/QUOTE] As long as you stay within their design rules it should be fine, we'll see when I get my boards back from them I guess.

[QUOTE=ddrl46;43346466]As long as you stay within their design rules it should be fine, we'll see when I get my boards back from them I guess.[/QUOTE] Not really. They give you absolute minimum ratings, but you usually should add like 20% to those or you might still get broken traces as it was the case for me once.

Soldering iron ordered, just a cheap hobby one to get me started but it has all the extras like helping hands, wick, pump etc. Should keep me going for a bit

I dislike using a 3rd hand. it is good for holding up a wire or two but it can't hold anything large (i.e. small PCB) without flopping over. That might just be mine though. We got these things at school though and they are really nice, albeit costing 40 euros. You just clamp it to your table and there you go. [t]http://www.redcoon.nl/res/shop/cataloge/product_315/B135277.jpg[/t]

Yeah, a vice is pretty handy. There are special vices for holding PCBs, as they have little slots to hold the PCB in place.

I have a mini vice I can use if needed, rubber feet and all that, good to know in advance the 3rd hand might not be too great with a PCB.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43347119]Yeah, a vice is pretty handy. There are special vices for holding PCBs, as they have little slots to hold the PCB in place.[/QUOTE] Aquire a Dremel, use it on a suitable vice to create a PCB Vice Also, i recommend just bolting down the 3rd hand onto your desk!

[QUOTE=DrDevil;43346821]Not really. They give you absolute minimum ratings, but you usually should add like 20% to those or you might still get broken traces as it was the case for me once.[/QUOTE] Itead can easily manage 8mil, the silkscreen and solder resist is top quality and it costs $9.90 for ten 5x5cm FR-4 boards with a HASL finish and a complete e-test. Hackvana also in comparison charges a hell of a lot more for 5x10cm boards, $33 vs $14.90 so I would only ever consider them if I needed a PCB made fast.

This is going to be a VERY big newbie question. I've received an Arduino Uno for christmas, that came along with various tutorials with speakers, potentiometers, buzzers, speakers, motors, servos, that kind of thing. I've completed all the tutorials (Except for the one with the LCD, considering that it doesn't work after making sure EVERYTHING is plugged in properly), and I want to expand. Now, I want to make some kind of robot type thing. Steery-wheels and all that. I've harvested vibrator motors out of various dead game controllers (one from an old XBox one, two from a gamecube one) and I know that the arduino cannot support the amperage that the motors require. I know I require a relay so I can control whether the motors are on or off (maybe more than one, I'm not sure yet) 1. What kind of relay would I need? I know the Arduino can supply 5 volts and if I remember correctly ~40mA of current. I assume that three double A batteries would be enough to power at least ONE of the motors. 2. My Arduino came with a external power plug with a 9 volt battery adapter. I assume it can support more than one voltage (I mean 5 volts from USB, 9 volts from 9v battery)? Here comes the third EXTREMELY potentially dangerous noob question of the day. 3. If I have an AC adapter, say it outputs 12 volts at whatever amperage. (the "whatever" will probably pique the "Danger!" alarm of the people reading this), but I do not have a corresponding female end to stick it into to power something. Could I fashion an adapter out of something else? That is, take the male end off the AC adapter and replace it with something else like maybe a 3.5mm male jack and use a female jack to connect the two? I've seen this kind of thing with cheapo chinese warming mugs and the like. I assume this is a somewhat dangerous thing? [b] I'm very very wary about this because I'm messing with mains power[/b] but I assume if I was to be really careful what I do to the adapter, it would be okay? 4. I have a really cheapy soldering iron that runs at 20W. Sometimes I notice that it takes at least 10 seconds or so to actually heat up solder on circuit boards. Is this because the solder is dirty/a higher melting point than the stuff I'm using? Excuse me if my questions are a little (very) unorthodox. Thanks! :D

[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;43352122]This is going to be a VERY big newbie question. I've received an Arduino Uno for christmas, that came along with various tutorials with speakers, potentiometers, buzzers, speakers, motors, servos, that kind of thing. I've completed all the tutorials (Except for the one with the LCD, considering that it doesn't work after making sure EVERYTHING is plugged in properly), and I want to expand. Now, I want to make some kind of robot type thing. Steery-wheels and all that. I've harvested vibrator motors out of various dead game controllers (one from an old XBox one, two from a gamecube one) and I know that the arduino cannot support the amperage that the motors require. I know I require a relay so I can control whether the motors are on or off (maybe more than one, I'm not sure yet) 1. What kind of relay would I need? I know the Arduino can supply 5 volts and if I remember correctly ~40mA of current. I assume that three double A batteries would be enough to power at least ONE of the motors. 2. My Arduino came with a external power plug with a 9 volt battery adapter. I assume it can support more than one voltage (I mean 5 volts from USB, 9 volts from 9v battery)? Here comes the third EXTREMELY potentially dangerous noob question of the day. 3. If I have an AC adapter, say it outputs 12 volts at whatever amperage. (the "whatever" will probably pique the "Danger!" alarm of the people reading this), but I do not have a corresponding female end to stick it into to power something. Could I fashion an adapter out of something else? That is, take the male end off the AC adapter and replace it with something else like maybe a 3.5mm male jack and use a female jack to connect the two? I've seen this kind of thing with cheapo chinese warming mugs and the like. I assume this is a somewhat dangerous thing? [b] I'm very very wary about this because I'm messing with mains power[/b] but I assume if I was to be really careful what I do to the adapter, it would be okay? 4. I have a really cheapy soldering iron that runs at 20W. Sometimes I notice that it takes at least 10 seconds or so to actually heat up solder on circuit boards. Is this because the solder is dirty/a higher melting point than the stuff I'm using? Excuse me if my questions are a little (very) unorthodox. Thanks! :D[/QUOTE] You can get compatible barrel jacks (as they're often called) from local electronics stores more often than not. Not sure if Canada has anything like Radioshack, though...

2. The UNO (and I imagine the others) can take a maximum input of 12V DC through the barrel jack.

the UNO can actualy operate to a maximum of 20 volts, but when using over 12 volts it'll start heating up and potentially damage components.

[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;43352122]This is going to be a VERY big newbie question. I've received an Arduino Uno for christmas, that came along with various tutorials with speakers, potentiometers, buzzers, speakers, motors, servos, that kind of thing. I've completed all the tutorials (Except for the one with the LCD, considering that it doesn't work after making sure EVERYTHING is plugged in properly), and I want to expand. Now, I want to make some kind of robot type thing. Steery-wheels and all that. I've harvested vibrator motors out of various dead game controllers (one from an old XBox one, two from a gamecube one) and I know that the arduino cannot support the amperage that the motors require. I know I require a relay so I can control whether the motors are on or off (maybe more than one, I'm not sure yet) 1. What kind of relay would I need? I know the Arduino can supply 5 volts and if I remember correctly ~40mA of current. I assume that three double A batteries would be enough to power at least ONE of the motors. 2. My Arduino came with a external power plug with a 9 volt battery adapter. I assume it can support more than one voltage (I mean 5 volts from USB, 9 volts from 9v battery)? Here comes the third EXTREMELY potentially dangerous noob question of the day. 3. If I have an AC adapter, say it outputs 12 volts at whatever amperage. (the "whatever" will probably pique the "Danger!" alarm of the people reading this), but I do not have a corresponding female end to stick it into to power something. Could I fashion an adapter out of something else? That is, take the male end off the AC adapter and replace it with something else like maybe a 3.5mm male jack and use a female jack to connect the two? I've seen this kind of thing with cheapo chinese warming mugs and the like. I assume this is a somewhat dangerous thing? [b] I'm very very wary about this because I'm messing with mains power[/b] but I assume if I was to be really careful what I do to the adapter, it would be okay? 4. I have a really cheapy soldering iron that runs at 20W. Sometimes I notice that it takes at least 10 seconds or so to actually heat up solder on circuit boards. Is this because the solder is dirty/a higher melting point than the stuff I'm using? Excuse me if my questions are a little (very) unorthodox. Thanks! :D[/QUOTE] 1. Relays are bulky mechanical things, you probably want to set up a drive circuit with transistors (dependant on the motor type). A quick google turned this up for me (I'm assuming your motors are brushed DC) I haven't read it all, but it looks like it might help you [url]http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/motors_and_microcontrollers_101/[/url] 2. The Uno has an onboard voltage regulator which basically means as long as what you give it is within specification ([url]http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardUno[/url]) it'll turn that into a nice 5v to work from 3. You aren't messing with mains! The clue is 12v, that isn't mains. So long as you aren't playing with the internal circuitry of the adaptor and stick to just modifying the end of the cable, nothing bad will happen (unless you get +12 and ground the wrong way around, that might not do your circuit any good). 4. Do you mean reheating solder that is already on the board? The main trick is to always make sure your iron tip is clean before you start doing anything. Also before you try to remelt the joint add a small amount of solder to the tip of your iron, it works wonders.

I figure this post might be interesting for some people in this thread [url]http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3554[/url]

I've been wanting to make a remote or something so I started laying it out on a prototype board. What it turned into was some kind of DIY "Arduino" idea which is going to run using an ATtiny 84 [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/43645231/photos/electro/2013-12-30%2021.26.47.jpg[/t] The female headers will be connected to the ATtiny, and the jumpers are to be removed when I use said socket to plug a serial module in for wireless serial communication. This way I can just plug in anything I'd like into there, so I'm not just restricted to the serial communication module. The 4 buttons should be obvious and the one at the bottom is the reset button with a LED showing if shit's powered. The holes are seperate islands, but the very top horizontal row is all connected (and will be VCC) and the very bottom one will be GND.