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Share A Design Tip to be included in our next Engineers eBook

jwatson
jwatson over 9 years ago

Let your fellow makers in on your design secrets here!

 

Have you found a solution to a common design problem?  Have you found an easier / cheaper way to do something?

 

Share your ideas with us for your chance to have your tip appear in Premier Farnell's edition of ebooks.

 

It’s your opportunity to share with your peers and promote your ideas or business at the same time.

Of course, please steer away from the obvious or too simple, such as ‘if you are writing software, take backups, OR drill holes this way instead of that way’.

 

We would like to create an ebook to provide both inspiration and assistance that help readers create interesting and fun projects, whether they are trying to kickstart a business or simply developing something for their own home.

 

Here’s some topics to get you thinking:

  • Using Maker boards – how do you get boards to do what you need, or configure boards to give you the inputs or outputs to do something cool?
  • Using Sensors – ideas for collecting information about what’s happening in the world, whether it’s temperature data or interfacing a camera...
  • Robotics and Controls – how do you control motors and movement? Ideas for making robots or simply just controlling a motor to close your curtains..
  • Displays – some boards have built-in displays, while don’t others? What are your best tips for displaying information in your projects?
  • IoT and Connectivity – soon almost everything will be connected, so tell us how you make it easier to get connected to the internet and transfer data...
  • Software development – what are your tips for writing better software, or just overcoming specific challenges? Show off your software expertise...
  • Just for fun – perhaps you’ve had a great idea for a new way of doing things, but aren’t sure if there are any serious uses. Tell us about your less serious tips and ideas!

 

We’re looking for tips of around 40 to 50 words with a simple diagram or image. 

 

Share your ideas as a comment on this discussion and we will be in touch with you to let you know if your tip will be included in the next edition of ebooks.

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 9 years ago in reply to jw0752

    I vote for these image I have followed them and are very well done John

     

    Enrico

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  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 9 years ago

    Hi Jane,

    For a while I have run a series of blogs called "Shop Tips". They are primarily tips to help with simple functions in the operation of an experimenters shop.

    I will add a couple links to them and if this is similar to what you are looking for feel free to check out the others in my contents. All topics have been labeled with Shop Tips in their titles.

     

    https://www.element14.com/community/people/jw0752/blog/2016/02/04/shop-tips-bread-boarding-resistors

     

    https://www.element14.com/community/people/jw0752/blog/2015/05/20/shop-tips--power-to-the-bread-board

     

    John

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  • ntewinkel
    ntewinkel over 9 years ago in reply to mcb1

    Mark wrote: I find it helpful to save the sketch/program with the date and time as part of the name on a regular basis.

     

    Second that. The first thing they taught us in "software school" was: Keep backups!

     

    If your project consists of more than one file, compress/zip the whole folder and name the zip file as Mark suggested.

     

    -Nico

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  • mcb1
    mcb1 over 9 years ago

    Software

    I'm a hardware person but have dabbled in the dark side of programming.

     

    I find it helpful to save the sketch/program with the date and time as part of the name on a regular basis.

    If you end up with it not going the way you want, you can always pull up an earlier version and cut and paste to get you back on track.

     

    Mark

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  • rsc
    rsc over 9 years ago

    Here's a tip on how to change a regulator's voltage:

    Put a zener diode on the regulator pin that is usually connected to ground.  This will raise the regulation voltage by the value of the zener.

    Vout = Vreg+Vzener

    image

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  • rsc
    rsc over 9 years ago

    Here's a tip for making enclosure panel drill templates.

    Use a CAD program to draw out the component mounting locations and drill hole sizes.

    Then print out the drawing at 1=1 scale and tape the print to the part to mark your drill holes.

    image

    Scott

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  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps over 9 years ago in reply to koudelad

    No idea, koudelad. It may not be a good solution for your design.

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  • koudelad
    koudelad over 9 years ago in reply to Jan Cumps

    I like the idea of using a power bank as a UPS, but all power banks I had in my hands (about 5 different types and capacities) use some "intelligent" charge controller that cuts-off the power output, if the current drawn by a device gets below some level (and maybe for some time). I haven't explored this in detail, nor performed any specific measurements, but connecting anything that draws only a few miliAmpers gets this cut-off.

    Any idea how to solve this? I don't consider raising a power consumption as an option image

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  • jwatson
    jwatson over 9 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    Thanks Enrico! image

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 9 years ago

    Tip #3

    Arduino 32 bit input with four shift register daisy-chained. Maybe also used for educational purposes as it only uses the shift registers chip

    image

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