Class Assignment #4 Electronics Production
So... this is the first time i have soldered, milled, and attempted to program anything... I began by watching the tutorials on the fab academy site, and then got assistance in the lab from an experienced lab tech...
The process...
Use the fabmodules to convert the .png file of the traces to an .rml format, set up the machine, and mill... We are using the Modela MDX-40A... and i figured i would mill 2 so one could be for solder practice... FAILED to cut out the outline on both, and so i kept going and decided i would come back to figure out why the cut out was not working. Stuffing and testing as i go...
When it comes to programming the board we have been trying for about an hour and keep getting various error messages. "can't find programmer," and "invalid device signature." We have tried different usb cords, changed the makefile instructions, re-tested all of the circuits and connections on the board... and are still trying to figure it out... but so far FAILED on this part too.
Ok... so its two weeks later... And i have had the pleasure of making and successfully cutting out a few more boards! The process of doing it again (mostly by myself) has really helped me gain confidence in this process. So i decided to make a tutorial to help solidify it futher, as well as to help others in the process. The reason that the previous boards did not cut all the way out is because the cut depth setting was less than the thickness of the board... so i reset it.
Click here for my 16-minute tutorial.
And this board was successfully programmed! (and also realized my first one was also working), the variable that we failed to change the first time was the programmer. Instead of using the AVRMMII we used the USBTiny programmer, made the change in the makefile doc, and it worked!
BOM
Fab Modules
Roland MDX-40 milling machine
Copper-faced PCB boards
1/64 in end mill
1/32 in end mill
ATtiny44
1 uf capacitor
(2) 0 ohm resistor
(2) 100 ohm resistor
(1) 10K ohm resistor
(2) LED
6-pin header
usb connector
ribbon cable
computer
multimeter
soldering station