0. Fab Academy Student Bootcamp¶
Introduction
The Fab Academy Student Bootcamp, which I completed during the week of January 26, 2021, allowed me to re-acquaint myself with a variety of techniques that I had larnedd in the past but certainly needed to refresh. The bootcamp contained three separate videos, each one in which the use of a different virtual or physical skill was demonstrated by a Fab instructor. After watching each one of the student bootcamp videos, I wrote a short paragraph which outlined some of the most important information that I gathered from each individual lesson. Additionally, my peers and I gathered in Charlotte Latin's FabLab on two days during the Student Bootcamp to work on surface-mount and through-hole soldering, both of which were demonstrated by Duaa during the second video of the student boootcamp. The process of soldering these boards is outlined in greater detail in the paragraph that I wrote for the second lesson of the student bootcamp. The student bootcamp certainly provided a helpful refresh and highlighted the many things that I will be doing over the next six months. I'm ecstatic to finally begin this journey and feel that the student bootcamp was the perfect introduction to the material that will be taught in the academy as well as the pedagogy of Neil and his fellow instructors.
Video #1
The first video of the Fab Student Bootcamp provided a helpful introduction to the many tools that we will be using throughout the course of the program as well as give brief introductions to several of the other Fab nodes that will be participating in the program. Throughout the video, different professionals and graduates of the program introduced various CAD environments, including Fusion 360, FreeCAD, and xDesign. These demonstrations were helpful as they highlighted which environments allow users to complete certain tasks more efficiently than others. After watching the demonstrations, I feel that Fusion 360 is a better choice than FreeCAD in almost every application that I can imagine at this time. However, if I were collaborating with other students on a group project, I think the real-time editing that xDesign offers would prove extremely beneficial. Additionally, the lab introductions were captivating as they provided a unique view into other Fab Labs across the world, allowing me to see other maker spaces throughout the world and see some Fab Academy projects from other years of the program. Various lab introductions elucidated the true scale of the Fab Lab network, as I previously had not known that massive complexes like the Puebla lab existed. Ultimately, the first bootcamp video demonstrated a variety of powerful tools that I will certainly become more familiar with as the program continues and provided introductions to a variety of Fab nodes throughout the world which was incredibly neat to see.
Video #2
The second student bootcamp video focused heavily on soldering, providing a lengthy, but useful demonstration of the process by a 2018 graduate of the program who is now an instructor at the Bahrain lab. While I was already familiar with many of the basic steps of the technique, Duaa provided several tips that will certainly help me throughout the program and in the future. First, Duaa explained the differences between quality solder and cheap solder. She explained that quality solder will dry and retain its metallic hue whilst cheap solder will possess a slightly bronze and dull glare after drying. Next, Duaa explained the application of Flux. She explained that while most solder already has flux in it, liquid flux pens can prove immensely useful, especially when soldering small components that move around incredibly easily. Duaa also explained that RA flux is better than ROA flux. Additionally, Duaa suggested the implementation of tweezers when soldering small electronics and advised that tweezers not be manipulated in order to preserve their shape. Duaa provided a multitude of other useful tips and tricks before providing holistic information on the soldering process. Duaa explained that when soldering many components to a PCB, the centermost, lowest components should be soldered first, followed by the lowest components on the outer perimeter of the board, prior to soldering the larger components to the board. Following the explanation of the soldering process, Duaa explained how reflow soldering worked, but reminded the students that most labs do not have access to reflow soldering machines. She explained that reflow soldering is vastly more efficient than manual soldering, and provided several useful tips to not short out PCB boards when using a reflow soldering machine. Following her explanation of reflow soldering, Duaa explained how to know where to solder each component on a board. She explained what the different symbols on schematics mean in relation to the orientation of different components on a PCB board. Finally, Duaa explained how to revert solder with solder suckers. She explained a useful trick created by Neil to optimize the desoldering process. The process entails holding a board with tweezers and heating a solder pad with a heat gun until the board falls. Ultimately, the soldering explanation by Duaa in this video served as a helpful refresh to many skills that I previously knew and provided a preponderance of useful tricks and information that I will certainly use throughout the program.
Through-hole and surface-mount soldering
While I have done lots of through-hole soldering throughout middle and upper school thus far, I had only been briefly exposed to surface-mount soldering during the electircal engineering course that I took during the first semester of my sophomore year of high school at Latin. Therefore, the demonstration provided by Duaa during the second bootcamp video was incredibly useful for when I began to practice surface-mount soldering in Latin's FabLab this week. While I had done surface-mount soldering in the past, I did not use the many tools that Duaa recommended I utilize during the process such as flux pens and solder paste. Both of these tools allowed me to solder a SatshaKit board and another PCB with inconceivable celerity and bullseye accuracy. I've included a variety of images from the two boards that I soldered below that detail the process. I have also included a video of me successfully burning the bootloader on my SatshaKit.
Soldering Images Matrix
Several images highlightiing the successes and tribulations of the arduous soldering process. The images in row 0, column 0 display a comparison between the first microcontroller that I soldered and the second one which was in the form of an ATMega328p bootloader that was used on my SatshaKit. The first time I created many bridges and had to wick the board repeatedly in order to rectify my mistake. However, the second time I took much more time and used solder paste, but I did not make an error once throughout the entire process. Ultimately, I feel that the next time I have to solder a SatshaKit, which will likely be during the electronics section of the course, the process will be much smoother thanks to this introduction. I have also since fixed the first board. The image of the fixed board is displayed in row 1, column 2.
Burning bootloader to SatshaKit
Video #3
The third video in the Fab Academy Student Bootcamp displayed a variety of incredibly interesting creations by former Fab students; however, one project piqued my interest far more than the other that were displayed. Elena Cardiel from the Leon Fab Lab created a Smart Lamp that utilizes light sensors to regulate the light that is emitted from the device. The minimalistic design of the lamp and the amount of light that it can emit are truly astounding. Additionally, the method of adjusting the light emitted by the lamp based on ambient light around the lamp is a concept that I’ve never seen before in any lamp. Also, rather than simply adjusting the brightness of the lamp, the shades on the sides of the device are motorized and move in order to allow more light to exit the device when the onboard sensors detect less light. However, the most interesting part of the project to me was the packaging that Elena designed for the device. The project features a compact method of packaging without compromising the ease of setting up the device. Ultimately, the smart lamp designed by Elena Cardiel was my favorite project from the video because of the attention to detail that went into the project and the impressive final product.
Conclusion
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Fab Academy student bootcamp and felt that it was an incredibly helpful introduction to the various things that we will be doing throughout Fab Academy. The bootcamp also provided me with a nice refresh of various integral processes such as soldering. Ultimately, the bootcamp was an immensely helpful experience and I look forward to applying the various skills that I acquired and refreshed over the next 20 weeks of Fab and throughout the remainder of my life!