Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast
Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast episodes
- MEP EP#324: What Would You Say You Do Here?
MEP EP#324: What Would You Say You Do Here?
MacroFab Platform Update
- Six new component vendors
- Enabled consignment to the 10-day manufacturing service
- Exciting update for the platform as it will help address supply chain issues everyone is facing in the industry
- Better part availability and more flexibility!
SparkFun Mousebites White Paper
- Written by Nick Poole
- IPC-7351
- Max mouse bite width
- Hakko CHP DP-2
- Parker’s only complaint is that the method of measuring breakaway torque was not mentioned
- Component proximity
- Total number of bites
- Panelization Talk
So You are New at your Job?
- Building off our series of resume, interview, and interviewee podcast topics.
- You just started a new job - what should you do first?
53 min - MEP EP#323: Hyperspace Part Packages
MEP EP#323: Hyperspace Part Packages
The Worst Timeline: A Printer Company Is Putting DRM in Paper Now
- RFID chips inside the label spool
- What kind of RFID chip are they using that is this disposable?
- EFF Article Link
Component marking with the manufacturer in mind
- Why put indicator marks?
- Where?
- Both inside the footprint and outside
- Double and triple check that things are right on the design side
- Diodes - Making Anode and also having the diode symbol on the board
- Vias and marking
- Numbers for marking?
- TSSOP and similar style packaging
- Own your design and be prepared to support it
53 min - MEP EP#322: Measuring up Your Interview Questions
MEP EP#322: Measuring up Your Interview Questions
Previous Podcast where we discussed Engineering Resumes
- MEP EP#279: Avoiding The HR Pit of Doom, Resume and Interview Tricks for Engineers
Interviewer Questions and Techniques?
- Stephen
- Schematic PDF for the test
- There is no output when a 10Vp-p signal is injected into the input. Turning the pot or applying a voltage to the input cv jack does not have any effect on the output. It is stuck at zero volts.
- Alternate – What if the output was stuck at + or – 11V?
- The output is stuck at unity gain. 10VPP in results in 10VPP out. The pot and CV controls do nothing to adjust the output level.
- The unit seems to work for all controls other than the CV offset input. That seems to only be unipolar. Positive voltage does not have an effect but negative voltage does.
- Hint: The output of U5.1 with zero volts in is reading zero volts.
- Bonus – What is the input range for the cv input if the microprocessor has an input range of 3.3V?
- The unit turns on and trips the constant current trigger on the power supply – What do you do?
- What is the input impedance of both the signal input and the CV input?
- What is the output impedance?
- What is the purpose of C1, C2, and C3?
- What is their cutoffs?
- What does R2 do in this circuit?
- Parker
- Resume
- Data Support Technicians
- Test Engineers
- Putting together test question / examples
PCB Ruler
- Don’t want to do just a normal one
- What do engineers actually want on these?
52 min - MEP EP#321: What Engineer’s Seek
MEP EP#321: What Engineer’s Seek
Comet Grounding
- After over 7 years of sitting on the shelf I finally got the motivation to finish building the OD3 project.
- The electronics and chassis are done
- Finally got to test true star grounding
- Episode 316 - Chunk 2 Chunk Current Returns
- Results?
- Building a wood enclosure right now
- Need to design and finish the foot controller
Western Electric is looking to expand American tube production.
- New sensor - Expo-pul facility in Saratov, Russia
- 8 days ago
- 6 days ago
- 35% tariff imposed by the US
- Western Electric in Rossville GA.
- Looking to expand their offerings from just the 300B
Question that Parker was asked by the MacroFab sales team
- Engineer’s and Sales never get along but
- What can a salesperson say or do that will spark the interests of an engineer?
- Especially since they don't like speaking to us, what would make the conversation more intriguing to them?
47 min - MEP EP#320: The Drop Ship Shuffle
MEP EP#320: The Drop Ship Shuffle
Testing Ratchet Wrenches
- Update on the design
- Found a digital torque wrench adapter that can handle the torque
- Will hack to get the signal recordable
- Use a Linear actuator to apply the force
- Once the parts arrive the design will be finalized
Finding Parts Regardless of Industry / Hobby
- Intake Manifold for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer
- The Drop Ship Shuffle
EU Parliament adopts new draft legislation about batteries and phones
- Dictating manufacturers of smartphones that batteries must be designed so that consumers and independent operators can easily and safely remove them themselves by 2024
59 min - MEP EP#319: Work to Automate the Work
MEP EP#319: Work to Automate the Work
Feedspot has ranked this podcast #1 for Best 10 Electrical Engineering Podcasts. Thank you everyone for listening and sharing this podcast with others. We are just getting started!
MacroFab Updates
- KiCad 6 support!
- PI DAY Contest
- March 14th (3/14)
- Stop by the MacroFab website to take a pop quiz for a chance to win some free pizza
Testing Ratchet Wrenches
- Wrench qualifications
- Ratcheting Wrench
- Non-Reversible
- Zero-degree offset
- ½” hex
- 12 or 6 point
- Have collected 20 ratchet wrenches so far
- Why? Broke one and wanted to try out all the different styles and brands before buying a set
- What are we testing?
- Thickness of the wrench
- How does it feel?
- Max torque to either failure or cam out
- Any other tests?
- Thickness to torque rating
- How much mechanism play
- Measure ratchet dimension
- How?
- Quick tests show I need more than 100ftlbs but less than 250ftlbs of bolt torque
- Load cells to measure the clamping force between 2 plates
- Need a “screw” drive to handle the force
- A normal ½” bolt is usually 5/16-18” which handles ~30ftlbs before pulling the threads
- Two Paths
- Take a ¾” bolt and machine the head into a hex
- Take a ½” allen socket with a ¾” square drive and attach that to a bolt
Automate the Boring Stuff
- Spending 20 hours to save 1 - the engineers life
- Making API calls with the requests library
- Requests: HTTP for Humans
- Openpyxl for creating excel
- Commenting code
- Automate the Boring Stuff
1 hr 4 min - MEP EP#318: Strategic Component Sourcing with Cody Endlich
MEP EP#318: Strategic Component Sourcing with Cody Endlich
Cody Endlich has 10 years experience in electronic component distribution and commodities trade and is currently the head of strategic sourcing at Macrofab.
- What does Cody do at MacroFab?
- Strategic Sourcing
- Cody’s announcement - ERAI
- What is the ERAI?
- What does this mean for MacroFab customers?
- Supply Chain Reports
- Confidence
- How can Engineers get ahead of supply chain problems?
- IHS
- Life Cycle information
- Manufacturing supply issues
58 min - MEP EP#317: When an Alien Craps
MEP EP#317: When an Alien Craps
Autodesk Eagle DRC Problems
- Via in Pad Detection
- Is there a EDA tool that actually detects this?
- Diptrace
- Eagle
- Altium
- FAB3000
- MacroFab's Internal tool set does not
- What do we do about this as Engineers?
- Write our own tools of course!
Datasheet and Schematic Woes
- TI CD4053
- The actual function of the chip was just not in the datasheet
- One typo made the datasheet unusable
- Old datasheets strikes again!
- This has been fixed sort of
- What matters when you read a datasheet?
50 min - MEP EP#316: Chunk 2 Chunk Current Returns
MEP EP#316: Chunk 2 Chunk Current Returns
Circuit grounding - How big is too big?
- Stephen has a new design that is trying something very odd
- Planes that connect to the star
- Difference between different grounding techniques
- 8 layer monster board with multiple power supplies - low noise
- Parker likes to think of these problems as the extremes of certain examples as a way to think about what happens
- Take a "star" topography ground for instance
- Make the trace lengths that connect to the "star" really small
- Make the star point really "big"
- This is vias connections direct to a plain
Coilcraft has “Elevated” inductors
- Parker found this tweet by Lukas Henkel showing coilcraft has inductors that are elevated off the PCB which allows placing parts under the component
- Coilcraft XAR7030 series
- Unique off-the-board design provides 1.5 mm clearance for parts to be mounted underneath
- Magnetically shielded for high density applications
- Torex Semiconductor has combined switch mode controllers and inductors to build micro DC/DC converters
- PCB Assembly problems?
- Should XYRS now have a Z height?
- This is typically on the CMs to "get it right"
- Probably best to let your CM know what your doing in this case to reduce confusion
57 min - MEP EP#315: A Rant About How Magnets Work
MEP EP#315: A Rant About How Magnets Work
Topics for this Totally not Unprepared Podcast Episode
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Spoilers up to Episode 6
- Is the Mandalorian steeling Fett's screen time?
- Who is a better character?
- Perpetual Energy and other Nonsense
- Magnets: how do they work?
- Space tether experiment
- Dissipating energy and charges
- Virtual Grounding
- Split power rails
- What really is ground?
1 hr 2 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.
More shows like Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast
Hackaday Podcast
63 Listeners