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Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast
Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast episodes
- MEP EP#334: Double as good!
MEP EP#334: Double as good!
Project: SNACKEY
- PCBs and Components arrived
- All PTH components fit
- Assembly starts tomorrow
Nichicon Obsolescence
- Removing 8 and partial 2 of there SMT Aluminum Electrolytic lines
- Nichicon has 43 lines of SMT Electrolytic capacitors alone
- Lines they are getting rid of have these qualities:
- Standard range
- High reflow temp
- Low impedance
- New series is UBH which seems to partially cover what they are removing
- High Temperature Range
- Vibration Resistance
- Low temperature ESR specification
Jeep A/C Troubles?
- Jeep AC started acting weird
- Vacuum leak
- Replaced the controller module and introduced new problems!
uTracerV6
- New version arriving soon
- 1000V @1A
- Check out the previous version Stephen modified on episode 135
1 hr 1 min - MEP EP#333: Cody's Corner - Q2 2022
MEP EP#333: Cody's Corner - Q2 2022
Cody Endlich
- 10 years experience in electronic component distribution and commodities trade
- Currently the head of strategic sourcing at Macrofab
- Last seen on episode 318 to discuss Strategic Component Sourcing and MacroFab joining the ERAI
What we saw in Quarter 2 2022
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine and Neon gas
- Neon gas is used in semiconductor production for running the lasers required for the lithography
- Lockdown hits Shenzhen as Covid Infections Increase
- Components that come out of China directly effected
- Raw material shortages causing ripple effects in other countries manufacturing
- New Earthquakes hit Japan and Taiwan
- Magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of Fukushima, Japan on the evening of March 16
- Renesas and Murata operate factories close to the epicenter
- Took 3 days to reestablish production
- A Logistical Headache
- biggest problem for MLCC suppliers at this stage is they cannot deliver materials to Shanghai and Kunshan
Magic 8-Ball
- Cody thinks there will be a loosing of supply chain due to the impeding recession
- Parker see's the industry streamlining catalogs of components similar to 2018 Ceramic Capacitor shortage
48 min - MEP EP#332: This Podcast Intentionally Left Blank
MEP EP#332: This Podcast Intentionally Left Blank
USB-C will be mandatory for phones sold in the EU ‘by autumn 2024’
- The rule will apply to other electronic devices including tablets, digital cameras, headphones, handheld video game consoles, and e-readers
- Laptops will have to comply with the rule at a later date
- What about laptops and devices that fall out of the 100W?
- USB “Extended Power Range” or EPR for 240W of power
- More Voltage 48V from 20V as max, still 5A
- Are there any USB Type-C connectors rated for the 48V yet?
Stretching Stainless Stencils? PART 2
- Continuation of last weeks topic
- Ended up being that ⅓ of the panels had poor copper registration from the PCB manufacturer
Project: SNACKEY
- PCBs ordered from OshPark
- Parts ordered from Mouser
- Drop in Mosfets to replace TIP 102 and TIP 107?
- IRL510 for N-channel
- IXTP76P10T for P-channel
Time to Say Goodbye, Floppotron 2.0
- The stack of floppy drives, harddrives, and scanners is finally being put to rest after 6 years
- Supposively Floppotron 3.0 is coming soon though!
- The Floppotron: Doom E1M1 - At Doom's Gate
Prep your boards!
- Some things to consider when preparing your designs to send to your CM
- Part placement
- Edge is the wrong place to put parts for many many reasons
- Leave room for fiducials
- Provide a Stackup - we are regularly asked for that
- File naming - use a common naming system or provide info on which files are which
- Do no provide every layer your EDA tool exports, some are blank!
49 min - MEP EP#331: The PCB Plague
MEP EP#331: The PCB Plague
Neutrik EtherCON Ruggedized RJ45
- Lockable RJ45 cable within an XLR style housing
- Also come in a sealed version that offers IP65 rating
Interesting PCB failures
- “The Plague”
- Black Pad
- Very poor to no solderability
Effect of Moon Phase on Tombstoning
- Many factors play a role in the overall outcome of PCB assembly, especially when very small components are involved. Broadly speaking, tombstoning is a problem with very small 2-pin components (0201 caps and such) and we've filtered out the following challenges:
- - proper paste application
- - component placement
- - designing for "good" thermal properties of the PCB with regard to tombstoning
- - moon phase
Stretching Stainless Stencils? Oddity Today
- Interesting manufacturing defect surfacing
- Stencil “stretches” ever couple panels or so
- Anyone ever seen or experienced this before?
- Solutions? Next Steps?
Project: SNACKEY
- Hacking a USI/Vendnet/FSI 3159
- Theory of how a snack machine works
- Interesting Parts
- UCN5890A
- UCN5842A
- SC529136CFN2
- M48T18-100PC1
- What I am doing to hack it
- Motor control
- High/Low side transistors
- Might change this to mosfets to reduce voltage drop
- Arduino all the things
- Current sensing
- INA219 High side sensing
1 hr - MEP EP#330: Rogue Gerbers - Jerry McDaniel of Customer Care at MacroFab
MEP EP#330: Rogue Gerbers - Jerry McDaniel of Customer Care at MacroFab
Jerry McDaniel
- Has been at Macrofab for over 5 years
- Currently the Director of Customer Success
- Previous life, he was the CTO/CFO of Litigation Records Services
- A records retrieval company in Texas managing litigation records for both Plaintiff and Defense attorneys
- Application support for Presensoft Inc. for almost 11 years
Customer Success
- How do you figure out how customer's act?
- What is the advice you can give to engineers?
- What is the weirdest thing a customer has ever done?
55 min - MEP EP#329: Supply Chain Crunches
MEP EP#329: Supply Chain Crunches
Reddit Question from r/ECE What are some pros and cons of becoming an electrical engineer?
- I'm a senior in high school, and I am giving great consideration to majoring in electrical engineering. What are some pros and cons that I should know about?
- From r/ElectricalEngineering - If you get an electrical engineering degree, you can get a software job. The reverse is not necessarily true.
Pinotaur Supply Chain Crunches
- Replacing a Relay with a Mosfet
- Looked into Solid State Relays but nothing seems to fit
- Design concerns?
- Mosfet drivers like the IRS25752
- A primer on high-side FET load switches (Part 1 of 2)
- Integrated or discrete load switch: which one should you use? (Part 1 of 2)
- Constant Innovation in Quality Control
- Current Sensors
- Replace integrated solution with more discrete solution
- Little differential opamp
- Current shunt
- Sprinkle in some bypass capacitors
52 min - MEP EP#328: Berry Based Physics with Collin Anderson
MEP EP#328: Berry Based Physics with Collin Anderson
Collin Anderson
- Computer scientist turned electrical engineer
- Has worked on things as varied as:
- Quantum key distribution at Los Alamos National Laboratory
- A tool to help decipher glyphs of the classical Mayan civilization
- FPGA firmware at the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory
- Currently an engineer and co-founder of Orthogonal Systems
- An engineering and software development firm specializing in:
- Custom test & measurement hardware
- Databases
- Data analysis
What are Particles Really?
- Thinking of sub atomic objects as particles muddies the water
- Starting with an understanding of wave theory
- Knowing particles are waves, the weirdness is less weird
Electron Standing Waves
- Current flow is more like a sound pressure wave
- Each electron is kinda doing its own thing
1 hr 11 min - MEP EP#327: Mike Kahn of Elemental Machines
MEP EP#327: Mike Kahn of Elemental Machines
Mike Kahn
- Been working in the high tech industry for over thirty years
- The bulk of this time he has been involved in the architecture and design of complex electronics and embedded systems across a wide variety of segments including general purpose computing, digital communications, digital video, medical devices and life sciences instrumentation
- Currently the Vice President of Device Engineering at Elemental Machines, a startup that has created a service that allows LabOps professionals to monitor their lab equipment through a combination of IoT devices and a suite of cloud applications
How did you get started in the industry?
Elemental Machines
- What is it
- How is it all integrated
- Cloud
- Vice President of Device Engineering
- What is your primary focus?
- IoT connectivity for data gathering
- What is being sensed
- Industries served
- How to get started?
- Services for outfitting labs
Manufacturing and bringing products to market for Enterprise customers
- Consumer VS Enterprise
- Custom specifications
- How rigorous your documentation and process is
- ISO9000
45 min - MEP EP#326: The Infinite Finite Grid
MEP EP#326: The Infinite Finite Grid
PART 2 : Is there a macgyver way to measure voltage without a multimeter?
- Lots of great suggestions in our slack channel
- Recreating older devices before digital multimeters where available
- Galvanometer
- Electrostatic Voltmeter
- Most of these require lots of experimentation or other precision devices to calibrate
- Let's explore the electrolysis method further
- Tools and measuring devices required
- Watch / time keeping
- Container of known volume
- Materials
- Distilled Water
- Equations from Purdue
- Amps & Time <-> Coulombs <-> Faradays <-> Moles of Electrons
Interesting EE homework question
- Calculating actual component resistance by in circuit resistance measurements
50 min - MEP EP#325: Metric Knuckle
MEP EP#325: Metric Knuckle
Keystone Cool Part
- Countersunk parts?
- Have you used any parts like that?
- Design considerations
- Possible Assembly issues
- Cool 16x2 character display
How do I branch into Electrical Engineering?
- Is it worthwhile to get certifications?
- Projects
- Finding your path.
Is there a macgyver way to measure voltage without a multimeter?
- Electroscope - pith ball or gold leaf
- Vacuum may be necessary
1 hr 4 min
About Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Dive into the electrifying world of electrical engineering with Circuit Break, a MacroFab podcast hosted by Parker Dillmann and Stephen Kraig. This dynamic duo, armed with practical experience and a palpable passion for tech, explores the latest innovations, industry news, and practical challenges in the field. From DIY project hurdles to deep dives with industry experts, Parker and Stephen's real-world insights provide an engaging learning experience that bridges theory and practice for engineers at any stage of their career.
Whether you're a student eager to grasp what the job market seeks, or an engineer keen to stay ahead in the fast-paced tech world, Circuit Break is your go-to. The hosts, alongside a vibrant community of engineers, makers, and leaders, dissect product evolutions, demystify the journey of tech from lab to market, and reverse engineer the processes behind groundbreaking advancements. Their candid discussions not only enlighten but also inspire listeners to explore the limitless possibilities within electrical engineering.
Presented by MacroFab, a leader in electronics manufacturing services, Circuit Break connects listeners directly to the forefront of PCB design, assembly, and innovation. MacroFab's platform exemplifies the seamless integration of design and manufacturing, catering to a broad audience from hobbyists to professionals.
About the hosts: Parker, an expert in Embedded System Design and DSP, and Stephen, an aficionado of audio electronics and brewing tech, bring a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the show. Their backgrounds in engineering and hands-on projects make each episode a blend of expertise, enthusiasm, and practical advice.
Join the conversation and community at our online engineering forum, where we delve deeper into each episode's content, gather your feedback, and explore the topics you're curious about. Subscribe to Circuit Break on your favorite podcast platform and become part of our journey through the fascinating world of electrical engineering.
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