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8. Electronics Production

Hero Shot!

Group Assignment

You can find more details on our lab site: Tech Works - Electronics Design

We worked on the Roland SRM-20 machine and used Mods.

Individual Part

First Step: Converting the Altium Design to PNG

Since I’m using Altium Designer, I followed these steps to export my design into PNG format so I could upload it to Mods:

  1. Press Ctrl + P.
  2. Set the page color to mono.
  3. Hide any unnecessary layers. I hid all except the top layer.
  4. Right-click on the photo and select “Export to PNG”.
  5. Save the file as PNG.

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Mods

Then I opened Mods:

  1. Right-click on the white screen and choose Programs > Open Program.
  2. Select Roland SRM-20 mill > mill 2D PCB.

Mods 1
Mods 2
Mods 3

  1. Upload the PNG file and ensure the DPI matches your original design dimensions.
  2. Choose mill traces.
  3. Adjust the offset number. I usually use between 3–4. If you want only the traces without unnecessary copper, use 0. In this design, I used 4.
  4. Press Calculate (make sure the WebUSB button is turned off to prevent immediate job start).
  5. Press View to check the generated toolpaths.
  6. Set the origin point to X:0, Y:0, Z:0.
  7. After verifying everything, enable the option to save the file in .rml format and press Calculate again to save it.

Mods main

Mods 4
Mods 5
Mods 6
Mods 7
Mods 8
Mods 9

The same procedure is followed for cutting the outline. Just make sure to choose mill outline.

Outline

CNC

Before starting the cutting process, a few preparations are necessary:

  1. Choose the correct tool — generally, one for milling the traces and another for cutting the board.
  2. Set the origin point for X, Y, and Z axes.
  3. Upload the .rml file and start the job.

Soldering

After I finished cutting my board, it was time to solder the electronic components.
The pictures below showcases my workflow:

Testing the built in led I made on my board

I also checked the leds using external power supply

this is the final result

Coding

This is the Arduino code that I used for this board

#define L1 26
#define L2 27
#define L3 28
#define L4 29
#define L5 6

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
pinMode(L1,OUTPUT);
pinMode(L2,OUTPUT);
pinMode(L3,OUTPUT);
pinMode(L4,OUTPUT);
pinMode(L5,OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

digitalWrite(L1,HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L2,HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L3,HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L4,HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L5,HIGH);
delay(2000);

digitalWrite(L5,LOW);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L4,LOW);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L3,LOW);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L2,LOW);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(L1,LOW);
delay(2000);
}

Files