Week #3: Make-through

All Week long

In the lecture on Monday when we started to breakdown and share what we know to identify the board components, that allow me to know a lot of info I didn't know I don't know (which is so hard to know) sorry that was a bit of a rap hehehe.

Also I started to ask questions and link the bits and pieces in my mind.

For this picture, I was overwhelmed when I saw this board for the first few seconds, but now after we're almost done with the week I can confidently say I understand it with 80% better than before.

Even the 20% I am not filling I know how to search and know about it.

Can you see how our instructor looks super cool!! and everyone are either highly focused or pretty sleep not sure hehehe.

I was overwhelmed with this board

• Step1: Watching the self-practice videos.

• Step2: Getting familiar with Eagle.

• Step3: Jump into the work and start drawing my first schematic.

• Step4: It was a bit unfamiliar how to find the parts I want to add even with knowing the footprint and the device name. Later I got used to it and worked my way from there specially after the Mid-week 4hrs session.

• Step5: As you can see in this picture I forgot to connect the Microcontroller to 5V, and I didn't notice until it raised an issue while I was connecting the board wires and thanks to Askar he noted that.

Schematic with missing connections

• Step1: Apply the new searching way to find the parts.

• Step2: Ask on our group to find another way.

• Step3: And tada I created and understood the schematic.

Final Schematic

Auto wiring and the manual wiring

Need to be bridged

Final Board

Exporting layers from Gerber-V

• Step1: Import our bottom, profile and drill layers into Gimp

• Step2: Utilize and flip all the three layers

• Step3: Export the layers to .png

• Step4: Upload to Fab module

Utilizing layers into Gimp

Generate and save Roland files

For the part while we were using the milling machine, you can say we did everything the wrong way hehehe. It was like having a hand on practice the wrong things.

We didn't invert the traces and pads color so the machine went cutting off the traces not around them.

We didn't fix the endmill correctly and it went carving a part then it didn't follow and thanks god it didn't break.

Cutting the traces!

• Step1: For the soldering part, it was my first time to put my hands on these tools and hold an empty PCB and I have to make it work which I was completely sure that it won't blink and going to blow up.

• Step2: It was really really fun, I was panicking that everyone was doing good with their boards and I don't have a clue and just shouting to Asker to come help me and he kept coming and going guiding me through. I am sure I was pretty annoying to him.

• Step3: After hour and a half or two hours I managed to finish soldering all the components.

• Step4: Asker just plugged the adapter and went bow the LED got burned, I had a short circuit, so I went back and Mohamed El-Sayed helped me to fix it and replace the LED.

• Step5: Here it comes the second try and Yaaay it worked just fine another victory in my pocket for this week.

Soldering components

What to expect!

• Step1: I thought through the parts I need to create this PCB, then started looking within the libraries for these parts.

• Step2: I used Fab and Sparkfun libraries to get the parts and started to choose depending on the needed footprint.

• Step3: Divided my frame to five section where I connect every section individually that will connect with the others later in the board.

• Step4: creating nets and naming them is a great way, so I don't miss up the circuit with too many wiring and it stay traceable.

• Step5: One thing that I faced at first is connecting the general purpose header pins. I tried at first to divide them into 6/6/2 without thinking it through. After that I looked to the ATTINY44 in the board, traced the pins and saw which pin do what, then I deleted the old headers and used 7/7 pin headers.

• Step6: This way I organized the board in a way that will make it easy to connect the wires.

Schematic for ATTINY44 PCB

• Step1: One thing that I faced at first is connecting the I/O header pins. I tried at first to divide them into 6/6/2 without thinking it through. After that I looked to the ATTINY44 in the board, traced the pins and saw which pin do what, then I deleted the old headers and used 7/7 pin headers.

• Step2: This way I organized the board in a way that will make it easy to connect the wires.

Schematic for ATTINY44 PCB

• Step1: I assigned the design rules as we learnt earlier this week before I start routing the board.

• Step2: While I was going through the routing process, I tried two different positioning the first one had more than issue to solve so I discarded it and started over.

Organizing parts (1)

• Step1: The second one went quite easy but still had some tricks that I could over come thanks to the the Mid-week 4hrs session,

• Step2: After I finished routing, I applied check using DRC and it pointed to the bridge routing and the drill holes. I went Yaaay.

Before we got the update on the accsignment

• Step1: After a while, I got the update that we need to change a couple of things. Thanks god I know every detail about my design so it was easy to add the parts back in the schematic and doing the routing for these two parts they didn't change that much in the circuit but had to make some rerouting from the old parts of course.

• Step2: I did a RDC check again and I had no issues. Yaaay finally.

Looks good

Final board

Prepared files on Gimp

At first I would like to thank Omar Sinpesy and Amany for helping me out through the fabrication process and re-preparing the layers for printing.

As explained above, I designed the circuit on the top layer, but in Gimp I flipped the pdf layers. That led to the fabrication to be flipped as well.

Omar noticed that and Amany helped me re-prepare the files on Gerber-V and Gimp.

I used to export the files from Gimp in three layer (Top, Profile, Drills) this led to a different sized in the .png files, but Amany guided me and identified why I should export profile and drills in the same layer as well as dividing the drills into two files big drills and small drills.

Flipped traces

• Step1: After editing the files went to Fab modules to generate the toolpath.

• Step2: First, imported the top layer. I sat the process to PCB Traces 1/64, speed to 4 mm/s, stock thickness to 1.7, tool diameter to 0.4 mm, cut depth to 0.1 mm and number of offsets to 4.

• Step3: I fixed the copper to the bed using double face so it stick firmly.

• Step4: Started to adjust the milling head head on a trial and error.

• Step5: After the machine finished, I tested the tracks connectivity with the Avometer and it worked fine.

Top - Toolpath

• Step1: I had two layers for the drills, small ones for the pads and the big ones to fixing the PCB from corners.

• Step2: First, imported the top layer. I sat the process to PCB Outline 1/32, speed to 2 mm/s, cut depth to 0.6 mm, tool diameter to 0.79, and number of offsets to 1.

• Step3: Something happened that after drilling 7 holes, the milling head dropped from the machine and got stuck in the PCB. I wasn't near and Noha turned the machine to view mode.

• Step4: I re-tightened the milling head and had to re-import a new .png layer with the remaining drills only.

• Step5: After that we re-adjusted the milling head height and stated to work again.

Remaining drills

• Step1: First, imported the top layer. I sat the process to PCB Outline 1/32, speed to 2 mm/s, cut depth to 0.6 mm, tool diameter to 0.79, and number of offsets to 1 .

• Step2: I didn't know the milling head will go around the profile for 4 or 5 times.

Work in progress

• Step1: 1hr and 30mins is the time I spent trying to solder the components but it's all a wasted time. I didn't solder any of them.

Not working board

Final board

It was a fun and engaging week with interesting hands-on practice. I really managed to learn and practice on PCB process twice

• Deep dive in Arduino

• Eagle software

• Gerber-V software

• PCB design

• PCB fabrication

• Milling machine

• Soldering through hole & smd components