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Prototyping PCB with Arduino and regulators question

roineust

Hello,

i'v been prototyping a circuit with several components on it, in addition to an Arduino that is connected to that circuit. Now i have got to a point, where there is a need to put the whole thing on a PCB. I found out that there are companies, such as Elecrow (https://www.elecrow.com/ ) that make this stage of moving from a bunch of wobbly protruding wires and into an initial prototyping PCB - a relatively easy task. Yet, after an initial learning phase of tools such of several EDA and Gerber file editors, i still have some unanswered questions:

1. There are several regulators (more than 6) ranging from 3.3V 1Amp to 22V 5Amp, that backup the whole system power wise: Is there a way to seamlessly integrate such a regulating functionality into a PCB, so there will be some sort of power bus on it, with several volt outputs and altogether around 10 Amps of power, so i don't have to buy the regulators as separate components and connect them separately to the PCB with wires?

2. Is there a way to also integrate an Arduino, with its digital/analog input/output finctions into the PCB, so the input/output wires also don't have to protrude outside the PCB, but rather the Arduino be an integrated part of the whole PCB?

3. When i ask if there is a way to do the above PCB type of integrations, i mean of course to ask what is the most efficient and friendly way to do it. i understand that i can try and make the integrations myself, by building the regulators and Arduino from scratch, component by component (e.g. ATmega1280 , capacitors, transistors, MOSFETS etc..) The question is if Elcrow or other such companies, have a process that makes it easier/cleaner and 'wizard' like, to integrate these functions of regulating and Arduino into a prototyping PCB.

  • 0

    Look for a CAD package that has the components you want to use in their libraries. This way you only need to specify the connections.

    For example, Eagle has auduino and voltage regulator libraries available. You can lay it out and then simply plug an arduino onto your card with no wires. The regulators would be directly soldered to the card. If they are regulator modules, they could plug onto your card or be soldered.

  • 0

    Hi Roi,

     

    There are a few different implementations that are feasible.

    (a) Use your PCB to house all the separate modules that you have. The boards can be soldered on using (say) SIL header pins and sockets.

    (b) Build all your modules by scratch, i.e. individual components onto the PCB

    (c) A hybrid of (a) and (b) where some of the funtionality is built from scratch using individual components, and some consists of ready-made modules/boards soldered on using SIL headers/sockets

     

    A variant of (c) is the Arduino shield. In other words, design your PCB to fit on top of the Arduino.

     

    The most common is (b) or (c). I've not heard of any service where Arduino and voltage regulators are handled for you automatically and you just need to add the rest. The nearest to this would be an Arduino shield where you design what is on the shield, and it plugs onto the Arduino.

    If you need to have DC-DC converters then it is quite common to purchase a module and fit it onto the PCB. This is because it is a specialist skill to produce a DC-DC converter and might not be the core function you're developing, so it makes sense to use an off-the-shelf DC-DC converter. If you need microcontroller functionality then it is common practice to fit an Atmel chip on a PCB and a DIL header for an in-circuit programmer.