Final Project¶
Outlining my Final Project¶
My Project:¶
For my final project, I’m creating a button box—a small device with multiple buttons designed to enhance immersion while playing video games. My focus is on driving games, so I’ve tailored the design to resemble the layout of a truck cab.
My goal for this project is not only to make a fuctional button box, but also to make it aesthetically pleasing. I really want this project to look like a real product. So Im striving to make the quality as high as I can while juggling my weekly projects.
Weeks I Might Use¶
- Computer Aided Design
- Embedded Programming
- 3D Scanning and Printing
- Electronics Design
- Computer Controled Machining
- Electronics Production
- System Integration
- Invention, Intelectual Property and Income
Inspiration¶
A link to the box I’m taking inspiration from.
My Concept Design¶
These are my designs for the button box.
This is what it should look like on my current simulator.
Gantt Chart¶
Materials¶
Buttons:¶
| Item | Type | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine Start/Stop | Key switch | Realistic ignition control | [Buy here]https://www.arrow.com/en/products/58j8a45-01-1-05n/grayhill() |
| Parking Brake | Push/Pull Toggle Switch | Engage/disengage parking brake | Buy here |
| Trailer Attach/Detach | Push button | Quick trailer coupling/decoupling | Buy here |
| Headlights & High Beams | Rotary Switch | Low beams/high beams | Buy here |
| Wipers | Rotary switch | Cycle through wiper speeds | Buy here |
| Horn | Push button | Standard horn activation | Buy here |
| Air Horn | Heavy-duty push button | Loud air horn for immersion | Buy here |
| Differential Lock | Toggle switch | Engage/disengage differential | Buy here |
| Lift Axle | Toggle switch | Raise/lower front lift axle | Buy here |
| Trailer Axle | Toggle switch | Raise/lower trailer axle | Buy here |
| Retarder Control | ON/OFF/ON Toggle | Adjust retarder level incrementally | Buy here |
| Cruise Control | Toggle switch | Activate/deactivate cruise control | Buy here |
| Speed Adjustment | Rotary encoder | Fine-tune cruise speed | Buy here |
| Navigation Controls | Push button | Cycle through in-game navigation screens | Buy here |
| Windows Up/Down | ON/OFF/ON Rocker | Raise/lower window incrementally | Buy here |
| Radio Stations | Rotary encoder | Scroll through channels | Buy here |
| Cycle Radio Presets | Push button | Quick preset change | Buy here |
| Engine Brake On/Off | Toggle switch | Activate engine brake system | Buy here |
| Engine Brake Adjust | Two push buttons | Increase/decrease braking intensity | Buy here |
| Trailer Brake | Push/Pull Toggle Switch | Momentary trailer brake activation | Buy here |
| Hazard Lights | Rocker switch | Turn hazard lights on/off | Buy here |
| Suspension Height (Front) | ON/OFF/ON Toggle | Adjust suspension height incrementally | Buy here |
| Suspension Height (Rear) | ON/OFF/ON Toggle | Adjust suspension height incrementally | Buy here |
| Accept Button | Push button | Confirm in-game selections | Buy here |
| Auto Fueling | Latching Pushbutton switch | Enable/disable automatic fueling | Buy here |
| Qty | Description | Price | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3d Printer PETG Filament | –.00 $ | http://amazon.com/test | |
| 1 | M Nuts and Bolts | –.00 $ | http://amazon.com/test | |
| 1 | LED Light Strip | –.00 $ | http://amazon.com/test |
My Input Device¶
This week, my input device was a Greyhound single-pole, five-throw rotary key switch. I’m very grateful to Mr. Dubick for giving this to me for free, as it’s an expensive component on its own.
Breadboard Prototype¶
Before designing my PCB, I wanted to fully understand how the switch worked. Mr Dubick helped me trace a copy of the datasheet for the switch, which was pretty usefull to see. I also used a schematic I found on an Arduino forum to wire it onto the breadboard. The schematic used a pull-up resistor configuration for each switch position, with all of them connected to ground. I followed this setup and connected the necessary pins to the ESP. Everything worked fine.
During this process, I discovered that all pins, except for the selected one, are set to high by default. I made a mental note to account for this in my code later to ensure proper functionality.
After coding, this is what it looked like.
Designing the PCB¶
Since this week was shortened due to spring break—and the lab would be closed—I had to design my PCB within just a few hours. This time constraint led to a few issues, which I’ll discuss later.
The PCB design itself was straightforward. I chose 1206-sized SMD components since I was already familiar with them from Design Week. The schematic was relatively simple, but transferring it to the PCB layout proved more challenging. Fitting all the traces onto a single layer required some careful routing, but I eventually got everything to work. Once finalized, I sent the design for milling.
Milling the PCB¶
Milling the PCB went smoothly. Since the lab was closing in 15 minutes, I had to work quickly and didn’t have time to document the process in detail. However, it was very similar to what I had done during Electronics Design Week—straightforward and without issues.
Soldering¶
For soldering, I didn’t have access to the lab, so I relied on the SMD book provided for Fab. I used five 10K resistors, five LEDs, my soldering iron, a solder fan, and a modeling mat to protect my wooden desk. The soldering process took about 45 minutes, but it was relatively simple.
The biggest challenge was the lack of a multimeter—we lost the one we usually have at home. To solve this, I came up with a clever workaround. I took a spare chip, placed it on a breadboard, and connected the 3.3V pin through a 220Ω resistor to a jumper cable, which I left hanging. Then, I connected another jumper cable to ground. Using this setup, I was able to test the polarity of the LEDs and ensure they were oriented correctly. This method worked even better than I expected, and I felt pretty proud of my improvisation.
I also soldered female jumper wires to my board so I could connect the rotary key switch to the board.