Electronics fabrication

Used tools, methods and technologies:

  • CNC desktop machine - Carvera Air
  • KiCAD - free schematics and PCB design software
  • Soldering and SMD components

     "Designing PCB is a art". That´s what my profesor on this subject said on almoast every lecture. By this you can tell I did some PCB design in the past, but never actually phisically created one my own because you normally order them from a manufacturer. This is how it went.

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The hexagon PCB, fully assembled and running.

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Top view, batery on the back.

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Additinal dimensions perspective.

Circuit

Project Image

     This PCB isn´t actually a design of my own, but it showed me the way throught the manufacturing process. It s a typical multivibrator LED blinking circuit. The schematic drawn in KiCAD show the simple circuit. One of its advantages is its very easily implemented in a one layer. Its powered by a 1.5V coin battery and controled by a slide switch.

Manufacturing

     The CNC machine used was a Carvera Air. It uses 3 tools and a x and z axis moving head combined with y-axis moving bed to do the work. The tool changing is done manually. The material is copper-plated Cuprexit plate. This setup makes it possiable to manufacture costume PCB under 10 mins but its limit is the number of layers for the board, because it can do only one. The machine takes .gbr files from an USB and figures out the gcode itself.

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The machine with opened cover

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Display for inspection and control

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Laser pointing out work area

Summary

     For future projects, I will be making more costume PCBs using this machine. For the 7. week I have a pocket sound frequency visuliser and tuner project prepared that will require one and for my final project I will need a board too. So check does for more as I prepare for the next week´s project.