Week 4: Electronics Productions

[02/25/2014]

Week 4: Electronics Production!

This week assignment was milling and soldering an ISP programmer that will be used in later weeks to program other electronics board developed. It looks trivial :)

Fab Modules & Modella :

I started with familarizing my self with Fab modules and how to fix the board and what are the different types of end mills that could be used with the Modella. That was a simple session. I succeeded in milling the traces and cutting out the board.

Tools Used

Modella MDX-20

Tutorials Used

Soldering Tutorial 1
Soldering Tutorial 2

Surface Mount Soldering!
After having the board ready from the Modella I started my journey with soldering. I had a single experience with the through hole soldering once and it was a simple and easy job. However for surface mount there is some difference. The size of the components are really small and I wished that the pads were you solder component legs on would be a little bigger than the design supplied :) It took me around 4 hours of struggling with soldering iron, soldering wire, tweezers and a magnifying lens to reach the result shown in the following photos.

Connecting the Programmer
After the above results I tested the board with the programmer in the Lab and It didn't work and I realized that the connector was solder badly. So while trying to unsolder the connector one of the traces was cut out from the board. Anyways I wasn't satisfied with the overall soldering experience and I felt that I have to start making more boards after watching some you tube videos on soldering techniques. I need more training :)

Everything went wrong at the Lab!

After taking the descision of milling 2 more board for my trials I visited the lab to start the journey. However; I found out the our Modella is not working! We checked everything with connections and restarting but nothing is moving! Our Lab Manager told me that the problem is with the Fab modules installation and that he has to re-install Linux and Fab modules all over again! So as soon as the Modella is up and running again I will build another version from the ISP.
This should be during the coming week.

[02/25/2014] Week 4: Electronics Production! This week assignment was milling and soldering an ISP programmer that will be used in later weeks to program other electronics board developed. It looks trivial :) Fab Modules & Modella : I started with familarizing my self with Fab modules and how to fix the board and what are the different types of end mills that could be used with the Modella. That was a simple session. I succeeded in milling the traces and cutting out the board.	Tools Used Modella MDX-20 Tutorials Used Soldering Tutorial 1 Soldering Tutorial 2

Surface Mount Soldering! After having the board ready from the Modella I started my journey with soldering. I had a single experience with the through hole soldering once and it was a simple and easy job. However for surface mount there is some difference. The size of the components are really small and I wished that the pads were you solder component legs on would be a little bigger than the design supplied :) It took me around 4 hours of struggling with soldering iron, soldering wire, tweezers and a magnifying lens to reach the result shown in the following photos.
Connecting the Programmer After the above results I tested the board with the programmer in the Lab and It didn't work and I realized that the connector was solder badly. So while trying to unsolder the connector one of the traces was cut out from the board. Anyways I wasn't satisfied with the overall soldering experience and I felt that I have to start making more boards after watching some you tube videos on soldering techniques. I need more training :)
Everything went wrong at the Lab! After taking the descision of milling 2 more board for my trials I visited the lab to start the journey. However; I found out the our Modella is not working! We checked everything with connections and restarting but nothing is moving! Our Lab Manager told me that the problem is with the Fab modules installation and that he has to re-install Linux and Fab modules all over again! So as soon as the Modella is up and running again I will build another version from the ISP. This should be during the coming week.