Is there a PCB construction that creates an area of the board that can easily be broken?
In the sketch the dotted section could be easily broken to reduce the size PCB. My design would have each breakout section containing a button(s) that wire back to a single edge connector. Breaking off pieces of the PCB reduces the number of buttons.
I was wonder if such a technique is used and what it might be called when constructing a PCB?
<<<create a PCB break pattern between the buttons to provide an options to vary the number of buttons.>>>
More than one person provided feedback so instead of replying individually I figured I would be efficient an make one response speaking to points. I banged out the short message last night while waiting for my wife to get ready for a dinner party. Now that I have time, I will expand on my objective.
In the past to arrive at a user exposed button, I have bent metal, drilled a holes, installed a push button and mounted the assembly to the edge of the layout. The bent metal has a string of holes and can be cut to provide 1 to 8 button panel assembly. The panel is screw mounted to the edge of a model railroad layout providing user input to trigger animation.
The metal panel assembly came with its challenges. My knowledge development in KiCAD over the summer has given me the confidence to find a replacements that addresses two challenges. Wiring the panel and continual growth of buttons.
Using a four pair CAT5 cable (got lots of this wire) and a edge connector on the PCB the wiring is resolved. I analyzed growth using the knowledge for the metal panel assembly and came up with the breakaway PCB idea. Metal panels have started with one button, replaced by two button panel and changed again for eight buttons. I don't think we will ever get the layout finished because we keep adding.
In problem solving I tend to try and find a solution with multiple applications. I believe this was a strategy developed while living in corporate, trying to build business cases to get funding for projects. There was never any money for support so being creative in finding solutions that had multiple benefits was necessary to get things done. "If we make this we can solve this problem and use it to tackle this other problem."
Making PCB's with multiple button counts would be easiest, I agree. Just making the largest button count PCB and cutting it by hand was my first thought. I really hate cutting PCB's it is such a pain. I will give the shears a try DW. I have never used scissors to cut a PCB. The PCB appears pretty thick for my tool. BD, I would love to have such a tool! Thus my idea of easy break board or using Shabaz term divisible PCB came to mind. I also like the V-Cut idea AJ. The smallest board would be three buttons and the cut edge could be backside of the board. How is V-Cut shown in KiCad anyone?
I like GL slot idea and the suggestion of multiple holes spaced to create a break line. As you can see in the drawing the spacing would have to accommodate the track lines. I didn't know divisible PCB's was something that was possible and/or any implications of such a design. I find making a post to E14 brings like minds with differing experiences to look at the problems is a great way to flush out a bad idea.
This board is so slim, there's no need for grooves, which will be an extra cost. Provided there's enough holes (or a combination of holes and slot), you could snap it with pliers. In the TI eval board photo earlier, there is a dual-row of pins, 7 in a row, with loads of tiny holes, and wires running between them. That's the same width as your board, since that has a 7-pin connector on it too. That TI board can be bent (with a bit of force) to snap it apart.
However, there might still be an extra cost, since the prototype PCB manufacturers don't like people who put many designs on a single board with snap-off portions. For instance JLCPCB policy is:
A few holes might go unnoticed by them, i.e. still possible to break apart in a vise perhaps, without the extra charge. That's another reason why the LED strip in the earlier photo had just a few holes, and make the PCB thinner so I could cut it with scissors. However you might get lucky and not charged extra, might depend on the PCB factory and who examines it on the day.
This board is so slim, there's no need for grooves, which will be an extra cost. Provided there's enough holes (or a combination of holes and slot), you could snap it with pliers. In the TI eval board photo earlier, there is a dual-row of pins, 7 in a row, with loads of tiny holes, and wires running between them. That's the same width as your board, since that has a 7-pin connector on it too. That TI board can be bent (with a bit of force) to snap it apart.
However, there might still be an extra cost, since the prototype PCB manufacturers don't like people who put many designs on a single board with snap-off portions. For instance JLCPCB policy is:
A few holes might go unnoticed by them, i.e. still possible to break apart in a vise perhaps, without the extra charge. That's another reason why the LED strip in the earlier photo had just a few holes, and make the PCB thinner so I could cut it with scissors. However you might get lucky and not charged extra, might depend on the PCB factory and who examines it on the day.
