In the electronic industry, the manufacture of printed circuit-board assemblies (PCBAs) has been greatly simplified by the adoption of “no-clean” fluxes during the soldering process. This “no-clean” solder paste intends to e...
Disclaimer: This post is rated VS (very sad); continue reading at your own risk.
Extreme temperature testing is nothing a hobbyist is normally even thinking about. The 94V-0 flammability rating that is printed on most production PCBs basically states...
Do you work with Printed Circuit Boards? Do you often use Soldering tools for a rework on the PCB with SMD components? Are you wondering why the faulty part replacement, after a rework, did not work for you even after correct troubleshooting of failure? Then head on to this blog post to understand what went wrong when you did your part of rework.
Previously, dougw shared a bench power supply video where he used an adapter he made. It had 4mm banana plugs and a USB port on it. The idea was that he could connect USB devices to a bench power supply.
I loved the idea and he did a g...
I've picked up Valve Software's Steam Deck. This (Arch) Linux based, hand-held personal computer is set at a reasonable price, can act as though it's a portable games console (often compared with the Nintendo Switch) and yet also behave like a desk...
As owner of some DC test equipment and as a big fan of automated tests, I've needed more than once to be able to route the instrument channels to multiple paths. Doing this by hand is of course not convenient, so I looked for better ways to do it. On...
Part 2b of the exercise to create a custom footprint for the Amphenol / SV Microwave SF2921-61506-1S SMA coaxial connector. In the previous post created the initial footprint boundaries. Now: the rest.
C...
Part 2 of the exercise to create a custom footprint for the Amphenol / SV Microwave SF2921-61506-1S SMA coaxial connector. The previous post checked the possible layout. In this one, I'm drawing it in the footprin...
I'm going to draw my first footprint in the KiCad 7 Footprint editor.
I have experience with previous versions. To try out version 7, I'm going to make one for the Amphenol / SV Microwave SF2921-61506-1S SMA...
LibraryLoader is a utility from Supplyframe/Samacsys, that allows you to find component footprints online and convert them to the EDA you use. I installed it today and used it to load an Amphenol / SV Microwave SF2921-61506-...
The new technique is known as MIMIC and allows engineers to print circuits on everything from latex gloves to contact lenses. (Image credit: NC State)
Engineers at NC State have developed a novel technique to print flexible circuits on curved and co...
This blog is to make available the USB to Banana Plug adapter design in case anyone else wants to build one.
This adapter converts a standard 2 pin banana jack to a USB connector and a 0.1" pitch header. This allows bench power supplies to&...
For the 2022 Holiday Season, I'm designing an Ornament-Style PCB. (Last year I did a PCB Gift Box with LEDs.)
In short, it is a 1.8" TFT LCD connected to a Pi Pico (W). The idea is to display GIFs downloaded on the LCD. I've started on the initial PC...
I have been looking for (and not been successful) in sourcing a through-hole PCB boards with 3.5mm hole pitch. Everything I see off-the-shelf is 2.54mm hole pitch. Even the solderless breadboards don't have 3.5mm.
I need to mount/solder on the PC...
I’m looking for some recommendation on KiCAD netclass board setup. What do you use for clearance, via size and track width?
I realize the most appropriate response to this questions depends on a number of factors. I’m hoping for a genera...
I am moving from generating PCB layouts using Fritzing to KiCAD. It has been something I have been considering for a while. I have been investing some resources (time, money and energy) in learning KiCAD 6. I have just completed the module on constru...
In a recent blog, I made a pcb for a piezo sensor circuit. image: the schematic in KiCadI used general common sense when doing the layout. I put the components and traces in such a way that they fitted and didn't have trace crossings. B...
Since cstanton alerted everyone to the PCB Forum, I thought I’d make use of it and try to get some help.
I’ve never done a ball grid array (BGA) layout, and I wished to have an FPGA board that I’d created myself, for some ...
What’s the key to designing a board that’s realistic on paper and in physical form? Let’s explore the top 5 design guidelines that you need to know to design your next manufacturable, functional and reliable PCB.
Top 5 PCB ...
PCB Design
PCB design is one of the most important steps in the development of a project and must be done well and checked many times in order to avoid the finished product flat out not working due to some electrical error on the PCB In this ...
KiCad can generate 3D views of the model being developed and can also export them in several formats. However, the files aren't useable in many CAD programs.
The Problem
Interfacing a PCB with other parts of a project is eased if ...
EDIT 31/1/21: I've added a reply below with an embedded video which is worth watching after reading the white paper. I've been reading around about grounding for PCBs over the last couple of days and opinions seem to fall into either &qu...
Learning to solder with this kit is a fun way to obtain a new skill and a great introduction to electronics. The art in this project is based on the logo used in the current Element14 Women Makers and Engineers Contest. The Printed Circui...
I decided to give PCB art a try and will be basing my attempt on methods described by Andrew Sowa. Andrew uses Adobe Illustrator for the art work and KiCad for the PCB design. I will also use KiCad but will use my trusty pre-subscription ...
Introduction The purpose of this blog is to analyse the advantages of placing circuits into a printed circuit board (PCB), and show the design process to make the PCB compatible with the hardware components which are mentioned in th...
