Week 8: Electronics design
This week, the PCB designed in Week 6 was revisited and brought into the manufacturing stage using a MonoFab machine, followed by soldering and programming.
Before starting
A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is a platform used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components through conductive copper traces etched onto a non-conductive substrate. PCBs are a fundamental element in modern electronics, as they allow circuits to be compact, robust, and reproducible.Compared to a protoboard, PCBs offer several important advantages. While protoboard are ideal for rapid prototyping and testing due to their flexibility and reusability, they suffer from loose connections, susceptibility to noise, and limited current handling.
In contrast, PCBs provide stable electrical connections, reduced interference, improved signal integrity, and a much more compact and professional layout. This makes them suitable for final products and long-term use.
There are several types of PCBs depending on their complexity:
Single layer:
Which have one conductive layer and are used for simple circuits.
Double layer:
Which allow routing on both sides, improving space usage and design flexibility.
Multi layer:
Which consist of multiple stacked layers and are used in complex systems such as computers and embedded devices.
- Importing the PCB design (usually in Gerber format).
- Milling the copper layer to isolate the traces (removing unwanted copper).
- Cutting the board outline (edge cuts).
- Soldering the components onto the board.
Regarding components, modern PCB design heavily relies on Surface Mount Devices (SMD). These components are mounted directly onto the surface of the PCB, unlike traditional through-hole components, which require holes drilled through the board. SMD components offer several advantages:
- Smaller size, enabling compact designs.
- Better performance at high frequencies.
Additionally, designing a PCB involves considering factors such as power distribution, grounding (GND planes), trace width, and component placement, all of which impact the performance and reliability of the circuit. For example, adding a copper pour (like in the week6) to reduce noise, improves current return paths, and simplifies routing.
For further information about this topic and the machines at IBERO Puebla, please consult this week’s group page.
Export files
Board
SRM-20 by DGSHAPE
Code
Results
In my computer and gameplay
Download files
For download 3D and others files, just click on the dancing shrimp.