Here’s an application note from Maxim describing how to protect printed circuit boards (PCBs) against ESD destruction: Large steel buildings, automobiles, mountains, even people survive real atmospheric lightning. Humans can also create their own miniature lightning bolts (sparks) and survive. When … Read more
HackEDA made this bluetooth robot with a pcb designed by HackEDA’s software algorithm: The pcb in this robot was designed with automated software written by HackEDA. Controlled by an Android tablet over Bluetooth. Check out the video after the break.
Sjaak posted his FT311D breakout PCB build: Quiet some time ago I got a FT311D PCB from Ian. Finaly found some time to build it up and write about it. I tried it on 3 devices, each with its own quirks…
Ricardo Trombetta shared a tutorial on how to plate the holes using copper hypophosphite pyrolysis to activate the holes: This video shows how to activate a PCB holes surfaces before electroplating. The holes are activated using a low cost copper … Read more
SnAgCu has a detailed review of the Smart-Prototyping PCB service we covered previously. High magnification images are included to show just how the boards turned out. Via the contact form.
Erdabyz posted an update to his Quadcopter in a 5x5cm PCB we covered previously: For now, Invensense’s MotionApps firmware has been succesfully ported to PIC32, and we have the MPU6050′s DMP outputting a quaternion at 200Hz and the output looks … Read more
HardwareBreakout shared a tutorial on how to make your own laser cutter for cutting PCB stencils: Are you sick and tired of using a tooth pick to apply solder paste? Are you still using through hole components because you don’t … Read more
This week Rwinscot shared his Betty crocker Arduino in the project log forum: I’d love to get into Arduino… but I don’t know how to solder. Which got me thinking about using through-hole sockets on a PCB. As the title of … Read more
Screen printing PCB manufacturing: Here is an example of Screen Printing PCB Manufacturing. It is very time consuming but your PCB factory could make screen printed t-shirts on the weekends. :) It looks like they are setup for medium volume … Read more
Would you like a pcb of your HackEDA generated design made for you (for free)? … I’m testing something out, and I need sample designs. If you’re willing to assemble the board yourself and give me feedback on how it … Read more
The DP6037 Protoboard v1 PCB is back in stock at Seeed Studio. A multipurpose 0.1″ pitch prototyping board that fits a DP6037 acrylic case. Grab a PCB from Seeed for $2.50.
Erdabyz has been working on a quadcopter to fit in a 5x5cm PCB: This is something I’ve been working on these days. The other day I was thinking about what would be the coolest possible thing you could fit in a 50x50mm 2 … Read more
Mats stumbled upon another cheap PCB fab house. The pricing and PCB limitations are comparable with Seeed and Itead. With each PCB order they offer a solder past stencil for an extra $25. We also noticed that they offer part … Read more
A few weeks ago Mats used a hacked footprint, where he removed the unused pins to help him route a board. Here’s a commercial USB flash drive that uses the same method. Few of the pins on the memory chip … Read more
Here’s an interesting method for designing PCBs that you’d like to mount on heatsinks. This tutorial explains how to make your PCB using thermal tape as the copper substrate. A thin piece of copper is mounted onto thermal tape, then … Read more
Seeed Studios is currently (17.1.2013-20.1.2013) running a promotion where you get a $10 Fusion PCB service coupon with every PCB order. This is a push to promote the recent changes made to the ordering process. The service is now made … Read more
Here’s how to etch a solderpaste stencil. The process is similar to the UV photo etching method used for DIY PCBs. This is all well and good, but commercial stencils are expensive, and are massive overkill for prototype boards. Here … Read more
Panelizing multiple PCBs onto a single panel is a cost effective way of prototyping. V-groves are usually used to separate the different PCBs, making it easy to snap them off. The picture above depicts what happens when the V-grove hits … Read more
An open source USB stack for PIC microcontrollers has evolved in the forum over the last year. It supports a number of USB-enabled PICs, and a good developer would test each chip before each release. We’ve been crowd sourcing that … Read more
Make DIY silkscreens using vinyl stickers, similar to making PCBs with toner transfer methods: Below I am going to detail the process of making the silkscreen, which is the side of the printed circuit board where we solder the electrical … Read more
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