Beaglebone shield outline

On 18/07/14 10:29, Danny B wrote:

Hi all

 

I'm a newbie to this stuff, but have been watching lots of videos and

blogs etc. I'm trying to design a cape for the beaglebone black, using

the "beaglebone_shield" from the adafruit library. What I wasn't

expecting is for the shield's outline to be cut out of the ground plane.

Is that right or am I doing something wrong?

 

I haven't used that library but my guess would be:

- the "beaglebone shield" is intended for use as a template for

designing shield boards

- the outline of the shield board is therefore drawn in the dimension

layer to be an outline

- you are not designing a shield board but a "cape"

- you therefore do not want the shield outline in your dimension layer

In other words, what you are doing wrong is you are using a library part

for a purpose other than what it was designed for.

Your best bet, probably, is to copy the "beaglebone_shield" component

(symbol, package and device) under a new name (say "beaglebone_holder")

then modify this new part as follows:

- change the symbol so that it looks like a holder, not a template

- in the package, change the "layer" of the outline from dimension to tDocu

- if the pin header is part of the device, replace the downward pins

with upward sockets and vice-versa.

HTH,

Rob

Thanks Rob, that's very helpful.

I think I'll have a go at drawing out the position of the male pins to match the BBB to start with, and forget about the outline as I'm not worried about physical space for this one - it will be bigger than the BBB anyway.

Danny

Hi Danny,

I have created a BBB cape template schematic and board layout that I used to create a cape.

The cape fits properly and works well. The holes actually line up properly despite how they look in the picture below. The template includes the standard cape EEPROM. I made the connector pads a bit smaller than some other templates so heavier traces could be routed between pads.

The template is the same size as the BBB - not shortened to provide better access to buttons.

If someone wants to explain the best way to publish this template project, I would consider making it available.

The whole project will likely end up being published at some point.

The project blog is here:

Vehicle Simulator - VTR / RTR