Week 07
Here we go with that copper stuff again.
Starting to Get the Project Rolling
I have been wanting to get into my final project for all these weeks. So I was actually pretty excited for this week. I ended up making two boards. For class I only had the "Light Board" made, but ran into a few things that I had a lack of knowledge on.
![](images/APartStart.jpg)
I tried to ensure that all the parts I put into my picture were from the fab library. This allowed me to think that maybe all the parts would be in the inventory. Basics that I would need: resistors, capacitors, IC (MEGA), switches, MOSFETs, etc. I never know how to put all my parts together so I started searching for a ckt design website. circuito.io let me play with all the different controllers and components that I could think about using.
![](images/BCKTDesgin.jpg)
I had wanted LED colors that weren't available in our store room, but I haven't done much digging as it doesn't matter so much at this point in time. I want red, orange, and running. Currently in EDS the LEDs are not particularily well distinguished and got jumbled through the week. I had wanted 4 different colors for the test board, but I did not end up with that. That's alright for now though.
![](images/CAlongTheProcess.jpg)
I initially wanted to use physical slide switches to allow for testing my signals. I got pretty fixated on this and Anthony struggled to understand why I wanted them (I totally know why he didn't understand my lack of reasoning). I still don't know why I wanted them.
![](images/CAMATracewithJustMosfets.jpg)
Considering how hard I fought to keep the switches in my ckt, I very quickly got rid of them as MOSFETs were introduced. You might notice in the above picture that the MOSFETs are not correctly hooked up. Unfortunately, I had not thoroughly understood what I was doing at this point.
![](images/CAMBStickyTapeOnBack.jpg)
![](images/CAMOtherMillGeneralSetup.jpg)
My overall set-up of the OtherMill was pretty simple. Initially my setup had traces that were too close to one another, so I was tired and not thinking and decided I would just cut off the extra copper.....That was not the best idea I have had.
![](images/CBMillingWithCompScreen.jpg)
![](images/CCStartOfTrace.jpg)
![](images/DCMillingTrace.jpg)
My milling all together took under ten minutes. I used 1/64th for all the traces, and then switched over to 1/32nd mill bit for the outline. I looked at the timing for using just the 1/64th and it went from 6 minutes up to 24 minutes. I did not have time to wait for that (nor would it have been good for the machine nor bit.)
![](images/DDCuttingWith132nd.jpg)
![](images/DECopperDustLifting.jpg)
![](images/DFEndofMillingOutline.jpg)
![](images/DGOutlineComplete.jpg)
It's always a relief when everything comes out nice and neat. Buring was not excessive, traces looked good. Human error as always was present.
![](images/ETraceWithError.jpg)
As you can see above, trying to cut the copper with an exacto knife was not a good idea. I did not cut myself, so that's a plus. Anothony, once again, you are the all knowledgeable and powerful beast of EDS. I ended up going back to the drawing board and retracing my board. After heading back to the OtherMill, I milled my board. It came out quite nicely.
![](images/FCleanBoard.jpg)
![](images/GmosfetsSchematic.jpg)
![](images/GNMOSFETTackLaidOut.jpg)
I ended up using N-Type MOSFETs for my Light test Board. These ended up being tiny. I still can't describe exactly how this electronic switching device works, but very roughly. You have a gate, source and drain. When the gate gets a logic high or low, it either switches on or off. (Which way it goes depends on the MOSFET type.) I hadn't thought about MOSFETs like this as I had been using them as a replicated load. Basically a bunch of MOSFETs with different resistors that all sat on a cooling plate, acted as a devices heat and energy use.
![](images/GOJustOneMosfetOn.jpg)
![](images/GPSizingWithFinger.jpg)
![](images/GQSingleMosfet on.jpg)
![](images/GRIncorrectLightBoard.jpg)
![](images/ZBelleTuckedIn.jpg)