Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

We’re joined by Alexander Vartanov, an electrical engineering student with a knack for hands-on projects. He discusses his journey from early soldering mishaps to his behind-the-scenes role in creative YouTube projects. We delve into his experiences with rapid prototyping for YouTube, his favorite solder, and shopping for surplus aerospace materials. Additionally, we explore his unique projects, including transforming ordinary alarm clocks into machines that shred money or douse sleepers with water. Tune in for a mix of engineering insights, student life, and tales of creative projects.

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• Educational Journey: Alexander shares his experiences transitioning from high school to community college, emphasizing the shift in student and teacher mentalities, and his plans to transfer to California State Northridge for electrical engineering.
• Choosing Electrical Engineering: Discussion on why Alexander chose electrical engineering despite its challenges and the conversation extends to the hosts’ own educational paths and changes in majors.
• YouTube Projects and Experiences: Alexander talks about his involvement in YouTube projects, including some unique alarm clocks and LED installations on vehicles. 
• Childhood Inspiration: Alexander's initial fascination with electronics was sparked by his father giving him LED lights to experiment with. 
• Early Soldering Experiences: Alexander shares childhood memories of learning to solder, emphasizing the hands-on approach and learning from mistakes, like burning himself while reaching for wire.
• Impact of YouTube Projects: Discusses how rapid prototyping and pacing for YouTube projects have refined his engineering approach, teaching him to achieve functional results quickly.
• Favorite Solder and Surplus Stores: Alexander expresses his preference for Kester 60/40 solder and shares experiences sourcing materials from Apex Electronics, a surplus store with historical aerospace inventory.
• Advice for Aspiring Engineers: Alexander encourages finding passion outside of work and pursuing it professionally, ensuring a balance between enjoyment and responsibility.

Relevant links:

• I Tested Banned Alarm Clocks from Tyler Blanchard 
• The World’s Most Distracting Car (30,000 LED’s on a LAMBO) from Alex Choi
• Louis Weisz
• https://www.apexjr.com/ 

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

Our hosts discuss Parker’s recent transition from Eagle to KiCad, facing challenges with library management and device layer integration. They discuss the new MacroFab Quote Wizard and our first entry to the MacroFab Food Device Design Derby Challenge! This leads to a discussion of comparing air fryers to convection ovens for fried food fun. The episode delves into adopting LibrePCB as an alternative EDA tool and the integration of Eagle into Fusion 360. Join us for an exploration of the evolving EDA tool landscape and practical design tips.

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• MacroFab Quote Wizard Release: The new MacroFab Quote Wizard assists in early project planning and cost estimation even without complete data.
• Dutch Fried Foods: We’ve received our first food contest submission! Victor Koppen from the Netherlands has submitted a pocket air fryer! 
• Convection Ovens vs. Air Fryers: The technical and culinary differences between convection ovens and air fryers.
• Transitioning from Eagle to KiCad: Parker discussed the challenges and lessons learned transitioning from Eagle to KiCad for PCB design.
• Creating Libraries in KiCad: Addressed the difficulties in mapping multiple pads to a single pin in KiCad's library system.
• Integration of Eagle into Fusion 360: The implications of merging Eagle with Fusion 360 for design file sharing and collaboration.
• Multiple Package Limitations in KiCad: Challenges discussed include dealing with multiple packages for a single symbol in KiCad, compared to Eagle.
• Library Management in EDA Tools: Challenges associated with large libraries and symbol-footprint associations.
• Adopting SQL Databases in KiCad: Debating the efficiency and practicality of using SQL databases for device layer management in KiCad.
• Exploring LibrePCB as an Alternative EDA Tool: The episode evaluated LibrePCB's features and library management in comparison to KiCad.
• Community Poll: We want to hear from you, our listeners, what is your view on designing your own parts?  Head over to forum.macrofab.com for a poll on trusting footprints or designing your own library. 

Relevant links:

• CI/CD with KiCad automation
• A couple weeks ago we had Brenden Duncombe on to talk about CI/CD
• 8 *Must-Try* features in KiCad 8 from James Lewis

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

Sergiy Nestorenko, founder of Quilter and former SpaceX engineer, discusses revolutionizing PCB design automation. He shares his journey from aerospace to starting Quilter, aiming to transform PCB design into a streamlined, AI-driven process. We delve into the technical hurdles, the fusion of engineering and advanced software, and the vision behind making circuit board design more efficient and intuitive. Sergiy also addresses the potential educational impacts and the future of hardware engineering in an AI-augmented world. Join us for a dive into the evolving landscape of PCB design and engineering innovation.

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• Transition to Quilter: Sergi discusses his first experience with PCB layout at SpaceX and the realization that led him to question and eventually automate the process.
• Autorouters and their Limitations: Exploration of the limitations of current autorouting solutions in PCB design software and why they fail. 
• Quilter's Vision: Sergi outlines the long-term goal for Quilter to become the compiler for hardware, enabling engineers to focus on design creativity rather than manual layout tasks.
• Organic and Unconventional PCB Designs: Discussion on how AI and automation could lead to more optimal yet unconventional PCB designs, moving beyond traditional shapes and layouts.
• Aesthetics of Earliest PCBs: Questioning the assumptions of traces leads to a discussion about the designs of the earliest PCBs in history. 
• Simulation Integration and FCC Compliance: Sergi emphasizes the importance of incorporating comprehensive simulations, including electromagnetic and thermal, into the PCB design process for ensuring compliance and performance.
• Feedback and Learning from AI: The discussion reveals how AI, like Quilter, can introduce designers to considerations they hadn't encountered, fostering a learning environment while automating tedious tasks.
• Exploring Design Variations: Sergi envisions Quilter enabling engineers to explore thousands of design variations, including different stack-ups and materials, to optimize board designs beyond traditional constraints, enhancing innovation and performance.
• Neural Network Integration: The conversation delves into how Quilter utilizes neural networks not for direct layout generation but for guiding classical algorithms in decision-making. 
• Feedback Mechanisms: Quilter encourages user feedback through various channels to refine its algorithms and user experience.
• Future of Hardware Engineering: Reflecting on the future, Sergi and the hosts discuss the potential shift in hardware engineering roles with increased AI integration. 

Relevant links:

• Sergiy LinkedIn 
• Quilter Website
• Sergiy Twitter
• Quilter's AI design service nabs $10M to make circuit board design easier
  
  

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

We dive into the intricate world of vintage computing with James Lewis, aka the Bald Engineer, who takes us through the journey of constructing a functional computer based on the Apple II GS's Mega II chip. He shares his nostalgic connection to the Apple II series, revered for its open design and pioneering hardware engineering. Our conversation spans the detailed architecture and challenges of his Mega IIe project, from initial concepts to the complexities of integrating modern microcontrollers like the RP2040 during pandemic component shortages. Tune in for a fascinating journey from the past to the future, bridging vintage computing with modern technology! 

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• The Mega IIe Project: James built a functional computer around the Mega II chip from the Apple II GS, containing the logic of previous generations of Apple II computers.
• Nostalgia for the Apple II: James shares his personal connection to the Apple II, and explains why the Apple II is revered in the vintage computing space, particularly for its open design and hardware engineering aspects.
• Technical Deep Dive into the Apple II and Mega IIe: James dives into how Apple II's open design compares to other computers of its era such as the Commodore. 
• Bit Preserve Project: His GitHub project, Bit Preserve, is where people can contribute redrawn vintage computer schematics in KiCad.  
• Architecture and Development of the Mega IIe: James outlines the evolution of the Mega IIe project from a simple breakout board idea to a complex design involving multiple boards, fly wires, and the use of modern microcontrollers like the RP2040 due to component shortages during the lockdown period.
• Debugging Challenges: Difficulties encountered when integrating components and understanding undocumented features, such as the keyboard signals and slot communications. 
• Design Approach (Rev 2): A backplane system where individual blocks of the Apple II design were isolated into separate cards, allowing systematic troubleshooting and incremental progress, which significantly facilitated debugging.
• Video Signal Processing: Explored the challenges and solutions in handling video output, particularly transitioning from composite video to digital video using the Mega II chip's RGB output. 
• Rev 3 Development: The transition from a modular backplane system (Rev 2) to a single board computer (Rev 3), consolidating all functions and addressing issues like power supply design. 
• Future Directions and Learning: Reflects on the initial underestimation of the project's complexity and duration and discusses potential next steps, including the possibility of a shift in  focus towards modern technology areas like machine learning for edge devices. 

Relevant links: 

• Bit Preserve (Vintage Schematics in KiCad)
• 1st Video: Mega II video: Getting it to boot
• KansasFest 2022 Talk (before Rev 3 worked)
• 2nd Video: Getting to the first done
• Mega IIe Github
• Mega IIe Twitch Archive (hundreds of hours of content!)
• Circuit Break #411: Entropy rules everything with James Lewis
  • Reliability and component aging effects 
• Circuit Break #222: Turning It On - New Design Checklists with James Lewis
  • Testing and validating PCB assembly design
• Circuit Break #141: James joins us to talk about ceramic capacitors 

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

Kent Johnson, Senior Corporate Advisor at the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation joins us this week to discuss the multifaceted role of religious diversity in the workplace.  Topics range from addressing challenges, fostering inclusivity, and integrating faith with mental health support. We discuss authentic expression and trust building, social media's impact, interfaith collaboration, and the intersection of religion and science. Join us for this exploration of how religious diversity is an important aspect of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. 

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

• Defining Religion Broadly: Extending beyond adherence to sects and emphasizing shared values, principles, and beliefs that individuals adhere to with ardor and faith.
• Religion as a Business Issue: Affecting employee retention and workplace satisfaction. Highlighting the importance of employees feeling seen, appreciated, and free to express their beliefs.
• Challenges in the Workplace: Fear of disruption due to religious expression and the perception that religion is irrelevant to work, or prejudice for different ideologies. 
• Authenticity and Trust Building: Building trust in the workplace, emphasizing the positive impact of transparency and realness in fostering an inclusive environment.
• Religious Diversity Initiatives: Faith groups collaborating on community service projects, and inclusive worship services during religious holidays.
• Social Media and Echo Chambers: The impact of social media on amplifying echo chambers and reinforcing biases, contributing to increased polarization in society.
• Religion and Science: The intersection of religion and science, highlighting potential areas of activity and dialogue around this topic.
• Healing Through Interfaith Collaboration: The positive impact of interfaith collaboration, such as visiting each other's places of worship.
• Authority and Religion in the Workplace: The impact of an individual's position on expressing religious beliefs in the workplace is discussed.
• Wearing Symbols and Openness: Discussion on wearing religious symbols in the workplace as an invitation for questions and engagement.
• Integration with Mental Health Support: Connection between faith in the workplace and addressing mental health issues. Highlighting the issue of loneliness in the workplace.
• Avoiding Compulsion: Stressing that sharing about one's faith should not be compulsory, advocacy for an open-door policy rather than a forced one.

Relevant links:

• Religious Freedom and Business Association 
• Get in touch with Kent!  He’d love to hear from you. 
• Check out our episode about engineering ethics with Kent: EP413 The Gray Zone with Kent Johnson

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

Parker and Stephen dive into the world of batteries, sparked by the BetaVolt BV100's claim of a 50-year lifespan. With discussions on its construction, potential applications, and recycling challenges, they unpack the implications of this revolutionary energy source.

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• Introduction to the BetaVolt BV100 Battery: Overview of the Chinese-developed atomic battery boasting a 50-year lifespan, built with a Nickel-63 isotope and diamond semiconductor material.🔋
• Low Power Output and Future Plans: Discussion on the BV100's low power output and plans for a higher-powered version in 2025, anticipated to be larger in size.
• Bad Movie Tangent: Parker's love for terrible movies, including Leprechaun 2 with its leprechaun go-kart scene and the Tremors movie series. Sequels that violate their own universe rules.
• Battery Terminology: Explanation of nuclear vs. atomic vs. beta voltaic batteries, with a mention of photovoltaic technology.
• Recycling Challenges: Consideration of the challenges associated with recycling radioactive materials, including uranium ore. ♻️
• Decay Curve and Output Analysis: Deliberation on the decay curve and power output over time of the BV100 battery.
• Phone Application: Speculation on the potential use of the BV100 battery in smartphones, with the possibility of lasting 50 years without needing to be recharged.📱
• Quiescent Draw Calculation: Calculation of the quiescent draw that a smartphone would pull from the BV100 battery over a 24-hour period.
• Limitations and Usage Scenarios: Discussion on the limitations of low power and various usage scenarios for a nuclear-powered phone, including limited functionality and screen usage.
• Satellite Thrusters Application: The potential application of atomic batteries in satellite thrusters, particularly with the release of the higher-powered version.🛰️
• Radioactive Safety Concerns: Concerns raised about the proximity of radioactive elements to users' heads in a phone and its potential safety implications.☢️
• Quantum Entangled Energy Transmission: Extremely speculative discussion on quantum entangled energy transmission and its potential applications in the future. 
• Questions to our listeners: 
  • Invitation to Quantum Physicists: How badly did we mess up quantum mechanics? We’d love to have an expert join us to discuss quantum mechanics for a future episode!  
  • Also, if this becomes a real thing, how would you use 100 microwatts at 3 volts? 

Relevant links:

• Betavolt BV100 Atomic Battery 
• Quantum Entanglement and Multispace Conception
• Our last design contest: EP188 Design Contest - Useless Machines Wrap Up

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online Discourse discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].

Join Parker and Stephen as they delve into Japan's decision to phase out floppy disks and CD-ROMs for government submissions. From reminiscing about nostalgic tech quirks to analyzing the challenges and benefits of this transition, they explore the implications for industries and digital competitiveness. Discussing Japan's slow tech evolution, resistance to cloud systems, and the enduring use of floppy disks in various sectors, they ponder the future of outdated tech and its impact on global standings. Tune in to gain insights into the end of an era and what it signifies for technology and society.

🚨Contest Announcement 🚨: Introducing a new Circuit Break contest! This contest is themed around building food-related electronic projects. We’re offering over $5,000 in cash prizes, themed trophies, and free prototyping from MacroFab. The deadline to submit is March 31st, 2024. Thanks to Mouser Electronics for sponsoring the contest prizes! 

Discussion Highlights: 

• War on Floppy Disks 💾: Discussing Japan's decision to end the use of floppy disks in government operations.
• Implications of Technological Obsolescence: Speculating on the challenges of transitioning from physical media to digital storage.
• Comparisons to Government Processes: Stephen shares his experience with outdated military specifications and discusses the reliability of military-grade components.
• Automotive and Military Testing: Comparison of testing standards for automotive, military, and space applications, highlighting similarities and differences.
• What does this mean for Parker’s FD5? 😭: The implications for Parker's FD5 camera and its reliance on floppy disks, is this a ticking time bomb? 
• Nostalgia vs. Modern Replication: Discussion on replicating vintage aesthetics with modern tech, including Parker's use of a disposable camera lens on a mirrorless camera.
• Grease Weasel: Explanation of the grease weasel device and its role in preserving data from old floppy disks.
• Floppy Disk Bombs: Stephen shares a fun and dangerous way of combining matches with floppy disks.  Don’t try this at home kids 🔥. 
• Digital Competitiveness: Japan ranks 32 in digital competitiveness. What are the factors that affect a country's technological advancement?
• Industrial Use of Floppy Disks: Some industries still use floppy disks, including automotive, medical devices and avionics. Chuck E. Cheese used them until at least 2023.
• Secure. Contain. Protect. (SCP): Tangent about SCP, a copypasta site about different creatures in an organization called Secure. Contain. Protect. 
• Predictions for Technological Obsolescence: Speculation on the last industrial or commercial use of floppy disks and potential next tech equivalents.
• We want to hear from you, so head over to our discourse to let us know: 
  • What industries that you work in are still using floppy disks?
  • What will be the next tech equivalent of a dinosaur? 

Relevant links:

• Japan government accepts it’s no longer the ’90s, stops requiring floppy disks
• Our last design contest: EP188 Design Contest - Useless Machines Wrap Up 
• Parker’s FD5 Camera: EP379 Taking Pictures With Magnetic Flux 
• SCP Foundation 
• Chuck E. Cheese still uses floppy disks in 2023, but not for long

Thank you for listening to the MacroFab Engineering Podcast!  We’d love to hear what you think of the show so please tweet at us @MacroFab and join our Circuit Break Community for discussions or email us at [email protected].

Discuss this episode.

We welcome Chris Gammell, Developer Relations Lead at Golioth, to explore the exciting world of IoT (Internet of Things) and hardware. Chris brings his extensive engineering background to Golioth, a software company with a unique approach to IoT solutions. Join us as we delve into Golioth's distinct strengths in security, developer experience, scalability, reliability, and interoperability. Discover the future of IoT device provisioning and explore Chris's intriguing projects. If you're curious about IoT, Golioth, or the challenges and solutions in this space, don't miss this insightful episode with Chris Gammell.  Some of the topics we cover include: 

• Getting the gang back together
• Developer relations = Application engineering
• A hardware guy in a software world
• Cloud engineers vs. software engineers: what’s the difference?
• CockroachDB “will never die”
• What does Golioth do?
• Learning about the Constraint Application Protocol (aka CoAP)
• Golioth vs. other IoT companies
• What is “Follow Along Hardware?” 
• Security by Default 
• Tales From the Encrypt
• Back to Bosch
• Microdecisions with huge implications
• “You don’t know what you don’t know”
• Individual key sets to minimize multiple device issues
• When Blu-ray got cracked
• Shout out to Joe Grand
• GolIoTh…
• Monitoring in the back end
• Bright, multicolored PCBs
• “Business in a box”
• Getting into Zephyr
• What is Golioth’s weakness?

About our guest:

Chris Gammell, the Developer Relations Lead at Golioth, combines his hardware expertise with Golioth's software focus in the realm of IoT. With a background in electrical engineering, he bridges the gap between hardware and software worlds, ensuring that Golioth addresses potential challenges proactively.

Relevant links:

• Golioth.io
• IoT Product Manufacturing with Golioth and Macrofab
• Chris Gammell on LinkedIn
• Follow Along Hardware blog post from Chris 

Thank you for listening to the MacroFab Engineering Podcast!  We’d love to hear what you think of the show so please tweet at us @MacroFab and join our Circuit Break Community for discussions or email us at [email protected].

This week Parker and Stephen welcome Brenden Duncombe to the show to discuss the pros and cons of continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (aka CI/CD) for hardware. Continuous integration (CI) refers to the practice of automatically and frequently integrating code changes into a shared source code repository. Continuous delivery and/or deployment (CD) is a two-part process that refers to the integration, testing, and delivery of code changes. In theory, CI/CD helps organizations avoid bugs and code failures while maintaining a continuous cycle of software development and updates, but we wanted to learn more about this with Brenden, so Parker and Stephen asked him about CI/CD, and also covered the following:

• Brenden’s product development background
• “What is a Director of Customer Engineering?”
• A brief history of CI/CD
• Why it’s the opposite of a nightmare
• Unit tests for software…how does it work for hardware?
• Pinball Wizardry 
• A “smearing” vs. a “silo”
• Test-driven dev benefits over the entire dev cycle
• Is CI/CD a hard concept to sell?
• How to make the investment worthwhile
• The Hardware Regression Struggle
• When start-ups aren’t really prepared for contract manufacturers 
• What is the ideal development cycle?
• Building something for your contract manufacturer? Always build two
• Teenage Engineering 
• Prep your firmware people with dev boards before the hardware reaches them
• “Like taking your specification doc and writing a test doc on top of that”
• Standard Fixtures and Future MacroFab Projects
• + more!

About our guest:

Brenden Duncombe is the Director of Customer Engineering at MacroFab. His extensive experience in Electrical and Systems Engineering, and his leadership in steering engineering teams from concept to manufacturing, make him an essential voice at Macrofab.

Relevant links:

• Enhancing Operational Safety: Cyber-Resilient Approaches for Physically Secure PCB Designs
  WEBINAR - January 30
• Brenden Duncombe on LinkedIn
• What is CI/CD?
• Circuit Break Podcast #15: Ridiculously Blinking LED
• A guide to continuous delivery in embedded development
• Circuit Break Podcast #40: Update on the MacroDuino and FX DEV Board
• DevOps vs CI/CD – The Key Differences

Thank you for listening to the MacroFab Engineering Podcast!  We’d love to hear what you think of the show so please tweet at us @MacroFab and join our Circuit Break Community for discussions or email us at [email protected].

Prepare to plug into the world of electrical engineering on Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast. Join two adventurous engineers, Parker Dillmann and Stephen Kraig, as they dissect the latest tech innovations, break down industry news, navigate the challenges of DIY projects and engage in compelling conversations with industry experts. Their real-world practical experience fuels their infectious passion and serves as the driving force behind a show that delves into both theoretical concepts and practical issues engineers face.  

Parker and Stephen speak with fellow engineers, makers, hackers, and business leaders, creating a dynamic space for discussing challenges in the realm of electrical engineering. They unravel the origins of product updates, ponder the lab-to-marketplace journey of technological advancements and reverse engineer the engineering process. They love to speculate about the decisions dev teams have made and boldly offer their own opinions. The show provides a unique window into electrical engineering for recent graduates and current students, who want a sense of what job markets and workplaces are looking for. 

About MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements. 

MacroFab streamlines the electronics manufacturing process, making it more accessible to a wider range of users, from hobbyists to professional engineers and business owners, many of whom Parker and Stephen welcome to the show regularly. 

About Parker and Stephen:

Parker brings a rich background in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing (DSP). His journey in engineering began in 2005 when he hacked Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year, he pioneered an Atari 2600 video mod, eliminating RF fuzz and producing over a thousand mods. With a background in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Parker’s areas of interest include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, and image and signal processing with DSPs.

Stephen Kraig started his electronics career in 2003 crafting musical-oriented circuits. An avid guitar player, Stephen channels his passion into manufacturing audio electronics, including guitar amplifiers, pedals, pro and other audio gear. He has spent close to a decade perfecting his brewing rig to make the best beer possible, often sharing his experiments with listeners. A Texas A&M Electrical Engineering graduate with a B.S, Stephen has served as the COO of William Mathewson Devices.  

We Want to Hear From You! 

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like what you hear or have something to say, join our online Discourse discussion hub to keep the conversation going with EE experts and experimenters! That’s also where we break down additional content based on each episode, and ask you, our dear listeners, to tell us who you want to hear from and what you want us to explore.