element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Community Hub
Community Hub
Member's Forum Seeking Your Feedback on a Beat Our Board Design Challenge - Grand Prize $5,000
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Leaderboard
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Community Hub requires membership for participation - click to join
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 36 replies
  • Subscribers 485 subscribers
  • Views 3041 views
  • Users 0 members are here
  • design challenge survey
Related

Seeking Your Feedback on a Beat Our Board Design Challenge - Grand Prize $5,000

rscasny
rscasny over 1 year ago

I've been in discussions with a component supplier who would like to sponsor a Design Challenge.

But its vision of the Design Challenge is a little different than how element14 typically administers a Design Challenge. I want to tell you the details below. I would really appreciate you voting in the polls and offering feedback on the challenge. Thanks.

Randall
-element14 Community Team


What is the Beat Our Board Design Challenge?

The goal of PI Beat Our Board Design Challenge is for the participants to design a board that improves or beats the sponsor's DER-953 board. Below, I've posted a short video and a schematic of this RDK, as well as the datasheet.

You don't have permission to edit metadata of this video.
Edit media
x
image
Upload Preview
image

image

How Applicants are Selected as one of the Top 10

The Top 10 submissions get to advance to the next stage and will be given the DER-953Q plus a $250 shopping cart to buy materials – fulfilled by Farnell. The sponsor or its representatives will judge the finalists. They are awarding $5,000 to the grand prize winner and $2,500 to the 2nd place winner.

The enrollment period will last 6 weeks.

What they need to show to be one of the top 10

To be selected as one of the Top 10, the applicant needs to show the following:
• Topology / switch type
• Transformer size
• Preliminary schematic

The length of the challenge is about 6 months (ends June 2024).

Here are the criteria to win:

• Cannot use InnoSwitch
• Beat the efficiency – 10%, 25%, 50% and 100% no-load
• 40-500 V DC input
• Size/ volume of board must be same size or smaller
• Must meet thermals – 85 degrees Celsius – no heatsink
• No optocouplers
• Component count
• No-load consumption
• Automotive qualified components only
• Transformer exempt
• Up to and no more than a 6-layer PCB
• Specify PCB stack up weight per sq foot- 2oz 1oz 1oz 1oz 2: Maximum copper thickness on top and bottom layers
• Overload power current limit = 8.1 A

What do you think of this challenge? I invite you to offer your thoughts in the comments section below.

I also invite you to vote in the following polls:



  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • michaelkellett
    michaelkellett over 1 year ago +7
    There is a trick or typo in the target spec - PI's board accepts 150 - 500V DC but the challenge is for 40-500V DC. But on to the substance. If I were to accept this task as a commercial project (which…
  • colporteur
    colporteur over 1 year ago +4
    I have neither the skills, knowledge or experience to take on such a challenge, “And For That Reason, I’m Out”. Barbara Corcoran Shark Tank host uses this catchphrase when she chooses not to pursue investing…
  • misaz
    misaz over 1 year ago +3
    It is very cool but too hard, I think. Maybe it is hard just to me, but I think it is very hard in comparison with standard design challenge, when you can take just a Arduino and do something. I consider…
Parents
  • colporteur
    colporteur over 1 year ago

    I have neither the skills, knowledge or experience to take on such a challenge, “And For That Reason, I’m Out”. Barbara Corcoran Shark Tank host uses this catchphrase when she chooses not to pursue investing.

    Something just doesn’t sit well with me about the approach to this challenge. I’m struggling with leveraging the community for the lion’s share of the benefits going to the sponsor. The sponsor reaps the benefits from the merits of an open-source community without having to invest.

    image

    Is it possible they gave marketing an engineering problem to solve? The brainstorming session came up with DER (Design Engineering Roulette). Participants invest their own resources against the house. You can bet as much as you like and often as you like because it’s fun and challenging for you! If the ball lands on your number, you collect the $5000 prize.

    I never played Design Challenge for the prize, “And For That Reason, I’m Out”

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
Reply
  • colporteur
    colporteur over 1 year ago

    I have neither the skills, knowledge or experience to take on such a challenge, “And For That Reason, I’m Out”. Barbara Corcoran Shark Tank host uses this catchphrase when she chooses not to pursue investing.

    Something just doesn’t sit well with me about the approach to this challenge. I’m struggling with leveraging the community for the lion’s share of the benefits going to the sponsor. The sponsor reaps the benefits from the merits of an open-source community without having to invest.

    image

    Is it possible they gave marketing an engineering problem to solve? The brainstorming session came up with DER (Design Engineering Roulette). Participants invest their own resources against the house. You can bet as much as you like and often as you like because it’s fun and challenging for you! If the ball lands on your number, you collect the $5000 prize.

    I never played Design Challenge for the prize, “And For That Reason, I’m Out”

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
Children
No Data
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube