Fall 2002
P0 |
Initial PrototypeThis is the initial prototype of the gizmo. While it was completely functional, it had a couple of problems:
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P1 |
Second PrototypeThis is the second prototype board. On this board great progress was made and the final size (1.75" x 2.00") was achieved. I went from four mounting holes to two as the other two were redundant when used with the Gizmo Bracket. However, as nice as it is, it too had a couple of problems:
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P2 | Third PrototypeAt this point the design is pretty much complete and I'm shooting for manufacturability tweaks. This rev had one really bogus bug (short between 5v bus and V+ bus) which was caused by my cheap-ass ECAD tools that don't work on netlists. Its not easy to see in the picture but I now have 3 LEDs and have been experimenting with right angle pins for the board connects. Other than that we had:
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A0 |
Initial Production RunNow the hard work pays off. Here we have an image of the Gizmo complete with all the recommended components on its professionally produced printed circuit board. After checking and re-checking schematics and films I sent it off to a shop in Southern California to be made. ($175 NRE which I did not want to spend on re-spinning the board!) The primary difference between the "pro" one and the prototype one is the soldermask and silkscreen, however the final version is also dimensionally accurate whereas the prototype ones from APC were rough cut to approximately the correct size. The only "oops" on this board is that the legends "Servo" and "Serial" are covered by the 4 pin headers as are the legends for the 8 pin connector. This suggests that if I were to be aggressive I should either add legends to the bottom of the board or put them behind the connectors. This isn't/wasn't an issue with vertical connectors and really only comes into play with the right angle ones. I also chose one green (PWR) and two amber LEDs (SIG, CAL) rather than 3 green or 1 green and 2 red. Further the LEDs are the flat top kind that are good for light pipes. This will work great in the bracket but they aren't as bright as the submini greens I used in the prototype. Nominal weight 20 gms (just over half an ounce). |