mechanical & machine design

design of 44aRDUINO

After several iterations of the design, I realized several things that could be construed as "mechanical" about an eventual design.

First, it seems to be the best if the board is made on one of the standard 2" by 3" copper board that come standard in the FabLab inventory and this should be the final form factor. This would be advantageous as it will quicken/simplify the fab process for beginners and, though the board can be made more compact, will allow for names/labels to be engraved on the board.

Second, the areas dedicated to the programmer and the ISP should be segregated. This will make the distinction between the two more pronounced (for beginners), something that is missing with the standard Arduino. Also, this will make the fab process a little bit easier as it will allow for the isolation of jumpers that have to be added/removed after the programming of the ISP.