Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

Podcast Notes

• Trey German is back to give an update on completing the epic Icarus Trophy race. See Figure 1,2,3,4. Trey was previously on MEP EP#10: IoT's Cloudy Future.
• The Icarus Trophy race is a 1000 mile, unsupported, cross-country paramotor race that starts in Montana and finishes in Nevada.
• Trey is working on a Bluetooth connected device that fits in the wing of the paramotor. Using this he can get more flight information and data about pilot control input. It connects up to his phone which runs a custom app. See Figure 5.
• Trey's paramotor motor causes RF interference that disrupts the Bluetooth connection. He is working on shielding the ignition system with should solve the problem.
• The Scariac is a water based resistor built by Grant Thompson a.k.a. "The King of Random". Grant needed a way to adjust the power to this homemade stick welding system but couldn't find an easy or inexpensive way to control the voltage. The idea is to use water as the medium of the resistor and by adjusting the distance between the copper pipe conductors  it will increase and decrease the resistance. Suggestion to listeners. Don't try this at home.
• Found on  TheAmpHour subreddit.  Your brilliant Kickstarter idea could be on sale in China before you’ve even finished funding it. Story is about Yekutiel Sherman who designed a selfie stick iphone case. One week after his kickstarter launched there where already copy cats on aliexpress. Under cut him by $40. This is just the nature of the world of manufacturing we live in now.
• The selfie drone already exists maybe?
• David Ramsay toured a  wirebonding factory while he was in Shenzhen. Really cool pictures of the machines and the process. Parker points out that some of the workers are wearing wireless ESD straps.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

Podcast Notes

• MacroFab is moving soon. Fun times! See Figure 1 to see all the stuff we need to move.
• Parker has finished the first version of the Selective Solder Fixture. It uses magnets to support the PCB to prevent sagging. Files  here.
• To calibrate the machines MacroFab is designing, Parker is working on the O.A.T.B. or Optical Alignment Test Board. It is a 16"x16" PCB panel that has markings and footprints of all sizes to calibrate computer vision systems.
• As a side project, Parker is gathering parts for the Fantastic Air Realtime Tester. He is going to use a Adafruit Light Tower, the  Macro Duino, and possibly the  IAQ-CORE air quality sensor. The IAQ-CORE runs $35 however and Parker wants to try the  CCS811 which is probably cheaper if he can get his hands on one.
• Stephen has been continuing work on the Synth Engine he was working on the past couple weeks. The AD9833 is up and running along with a 16bit A/D and D/A. He is able to produce a saw wave that ranges from 13.75Hz to 14080Hz. It is 0.5V/octave or 0.041666V/note. Tuning and tracking is excellent.
• It seems the Arduino libraries can not handle floating point calculations past 7 decimal places.
• Stephen has also jumped on the fixture train and has a cut tape strip feeder for placing cut tape and reduce wastage on our My200 Pick and Place.
• Scott Shawcroft, a  previous guest on MEP, now writes for Adafruit! His first article is about the Arduino Zero and is a very technical walk through. Go  check it out!
• Parker has found that datasheet pin names vary from manufacture to manufacture for the same chips. Example is the 74HC595 and pin 9 which is the serial output of the IC. KiCad uses inverse QH for the 74HC595 pin 9 marking. Wat. 
  • NXP: Q7S
  • TI: QH’
  • ON Semi: SQh
  • Diodes Inc. : Q7S
  • STMicro:  QH’
  • Philips: Q7’
  • National Semi:  Q’h
  • Motorola:  SQh
  • SGS-Thomson: QH’
  • Fairchild: Q’H
  • Toshiba:  QH’
• Someone should decap different 74HC595's or other 7400 series chips to see how much different they are.
• IoT done right? Mark Rittman using a Amazon Echo to voice control his 

Podcast Notes

• First podcast and the first recording in the "Bomb Shelter" (name pending). See Figure 1.
• Parker is working on an adjustable fixture to work along with the Jig Of Destiny that is currently being used. It will have an adjustable slide to fit multiple panel sizes.
• The  Macro_Duino has been fixed. Parker tied the  FT230X's VCCIO to the 3.3V output on the FT230X which is the standard way to do it. The I/O on the FT230X is 5V tolerant so this should be good. The 3.3V regulator on the chip can supply 50mA if you are daring enough to hook some external circuits up to it.
• Parker's AVR Tag Connect article came out. Go check it out.
• Stephen has continued his work on his "Synth Engine" that he started while his wife was in surgery last week. Arduino stuff is working well!
• However the Arduino wasn't working to well for getting high speed frequencies so Stephen moved to the  AD9833 - a 28 bit frequency divider. He put a 1Mhz clock generator (ECS-2100AX-1.0MHZ) and can get up to 0.004Hz resolution. See Figure 2.
• Cadsoft Released Eagle 7.7 which is the first version since the AutoDesk acquisition. Check out the Patch notes. Interesting things are the new licensing options and the signal names on the traces in the layout editor.
• Arduino V. Arduino – Arduino LLC and Arduino SRL are battling for the Arduino trademark. Has Arduino.cc and Arduino.org settled things once and for all? Thats a lot of Arduinos in the last couple sentences.
• Yup more Arduinos. They are running a kickstarter called the  ESLOV IoT Invention Kit. Why does an established company need to run a kickstarter?
• IoT devices take over the internet with botnets! 150,000 IoT devices are behind the 1Tbps  DDoS attack on OVH Hosting. Most are security IP cameras. IP cameras have been around a lot longer then the buzz term IoT.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

Podcast Notes

• Parker got the bootloader on the  EFM8 working. The  Errata shows that EFM8 chips younger then data code 1601 do not have a working bootloader. Should have an article out next week about using the EFM8 MCUs.
•  EFM8 Factory Bootloader User Guide and the associated software. Has open source Python code for the uploader.
• DTR - Data Terminal Ready : RTS - Request To Send
• Stephen - "C is awesome"
• Parker thinks someone should make an IDE where you can click on register names and it will open up the datasheet to the correct spot.
•  MacroDuino: "Better version of the Arduino Uno". Has USB Type-C, a FT230X, and a non working power management. See Figure 1.
• Stephen was out for most of the week for his wife's surgery. They used the DaVinci Machine. It is a "ridiculous medical like robot, anime, mecha, crazied" 4 armed robot where the doctor sits in a pod and controls everything remotely.
• Video of the DaVinici Machine skinning an apple.
• While waiting during surgery, Stephen designed a voltage controlled amplifier for a synthesizer design he is working on. See Figure 2. It uses a THAT Corporation THAT2180. Does 0dB down to -120dB using only two ICs.
• Silicon Labs released the  Thunderboard Sense. Has loads of sensors! 
  • Relative Humidity and Temperature Sensor  Si7021
  • UV and Ambient Light Sensor  Si1133
  • Pressure Sensor BMP280
  • Indoor Air Quality and Gas Sensor CCS811
  • 6-axis Inertial Sensor  ICM-20648
  • MEMS Microphone  SPV1840
• Snap Chat is in the Hardware game now. The Spectacles are glasses that capture 10 sec videos. Looks super hipster.  Has wireless but no would on what kind of connectivity. Probably Bluetooth. Will it survive where Google Glasses failed?
• Parker wants to put a light tower on the outside of the new shops bathroom to indicate the current status. Smart bathrooms are the way of the future.
• Hot Wheel  brand capacitors. Why?

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

Podcast Notes

• Michael Lyons of Centex Paranormal pays us a visit. Centex Paranormal is based out of Austin, Texas. They design ghost hunting equipment. See Figure 1.
• New product out, EDI+. Has SD card data logging, humidity, air pressure, and all the data can be graphed onto a computer.
• Michael is using the BME280 sensor humidity and pressure sensor by Bosch. Datasheet can be found here.
• The EDI+ runs off of a STM32 ARM MCU where as the original EDI ran off a MSP-430.
• Michael did not know what he wanted to do in college so he just took some Electrical Engineering classes. He says he got "lucky".
• Stephen got into electronics when his mother bought him a Gakken ex-150. Parker got into electronics by fixing old Atari consoles.
•  MakerBot releases their 6th generation of 3D printers.
• The STM32 ARM MCU that Michael Lyons uses on the EDI+ has interesting markings. It has two "pin one indicators" on the package molding but only one is marked in the datasheet's mechanical drawing. See  page 75 of the datasheet and Figure 2.
• Silicon Labs is releasing something on Sept. 28. Parker thinks it might be a "Sensor Bee".

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro mashup!

Podcast Notes

• Co-Podcast time with The Amp Hour's Chris Gammell.
• Parker finds new ICs through the subreddit /r/nicechips and subscribing to manufactures mailing lists.
• Chip manufactures should just advertise the specifications of new chips and link direct to the datasheets.
• Other sources for new parts and information are EEweb and Electronics Weekly.
• Parker and Stephen do a really bad job explaining what MacroFab does. MacroFab does end-to-end electronics manufacturing and operations for low volume companies. Everything can be done via API end point which can enable your webstore to automatically drop ship inventory to your customers.
• Last time  MacroFab talked with Chris Gammell it was only four people. Now MacroFab has over 20 employees and is moving to a 11k sq ft warehouse space.
•  Renesas to Buy Intersil for $3.2 Billion. Everyone agrees that competition is good and these mergers go against that.
• How to defend against the  USB Killer Thumb Drive. Best solution is to just not give users access to a USB ports.
•  Samsung Note 7 exploding. Samsung says it is a mechanical issue but it sounds more like a failure of the  Battery Management System.
• Parker has used the BQ24075RGTT for lithium battery management.
• Cycle life of Lithium batteries is around 500-600 recharge cycles.
• GM creates  Elon Musk's dream car first. GM will be using LG Tech's batteries.
• Chris went to IMTS, International Manufacturing Technology Show a couple days ago. See Figure 1. Has lots of huge machines that  Chris enjoyed looking at. How does electronic trade shows compete with this?
• Sword fighting robot arm by ABB.
• Stephen has been to Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia which is held in Houston, Texas.
• The ESP32 wifi module has been released. It is the successor to the popular ESP8266. If the price for the modules drop then the ESP32 will probably be as successful as the ESP8266.
• Stephen and Chris gotta go fast with SPI over I2C.
• Power will be the limiting factor going forward for IoT and other small devices as chips like the ESP32 drive the price of silicon down.
• Parker and Stephen are working on the  SSPS (Super Simple Power Supply) and it is up on the MacroFab's github account. It is a 700W water cooled beast of a powersupply that runs a couple 

Podcast Notes

• Stephen brewed a batch of beer over the last weekend with his new electric brewing setup. It is not complete yet but it does work. Stephen converted his brew kettle to include a 4500W heating element bought from  lowes. It runs on 220 volts. At full blast it pulls ~20A.
• The enclosure for Stephen's brew rig is currently a USPS box. See Figure 1 and 2.
• Parker is working on an  Audio Amp for Spooky Pinball. It is going to be based on the Gainclone. Instead of the LM3875, Parker is going to use the LM1875 as he does not need 56W per channel.
• For Tone control, Parker found these dirt cheap potentiometers on  Ebay. Seem to work fine...
• EMC FASTPASS has a great article ever product engineer should read. PCB Cost Reduction and EMC – A Cautionary Tale. The article is about redesigning a product to lower its cost and the trials of the FCC/CE certification.
• Awesome click bait title from Hackaday.  Top Ten Reasons Not To Buy A Fake MacBook Charger. Number Eight Will Shock You.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro theme!

Podcast Notes

• Parker designed the Macro Duino! Basically a Arduino clone using Type C USB, a FT230X as the USB UART bridge, and proper power switching with the Ti TPS2113A. See Figure 1. Also supports 3.3V and 5.0V.
• Earlier this week Parker had an article about adding external Part Libraries and DRC rules to Eagle. Check it out  here.
• Some new work on the PinHeck Pinball System. Parker is working on adding the Octavo OSD3358 to replace the Parallax Propeller as the A/V processor.
• Stephen has been working on his Brewing Rig. He is giving a talk at Destination Codes about the Brewing Rig since it will involve programming and hardware.
• For flow control, Stephen is using a  Atlas Scientific flow meter and a  motorized ball valve from Amazon.
• LattePanda is the platform Stephen wants to use for the Brewing Rig. Runs Windows10.
• KAIST process engineers, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, have developed a  chip packaging technology that creates flexible integrated circuits. The substrate they designed is very interesting.
•  Fixing the Ampere: Redefining the SI Unit.
•  ON cleared to buy Fairchild. ON has received the US FTC’s blessing to proceed with its $2.4 billion takeover of Fairchild on condition that it sells off the Ignition IGBT business.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro theme!

Podcast Notes

• Parker is working on streamlining the Selective Solder Process at MacroFab. Writing a script that will take XYRS data and generate the G-Code for the machine.
• Design work on a calibration board for visual systems like the SAIM and calibrating the Selective Solder is being designed.
• Stephen is getting the analog side of the SSPS working. The -35V rail has a blown transistor. He found that pnp transistors were flipped C to E!
• After testing the circuit node by node, Stephen found some deviations from the simulation. The feedback voltage was supposed to be about 34 volts but it was reading 15.2 and -1.78 for both regulators. Put the scope on the fb nodes and found that the + error amp was oscillating at 12.6kHz and the - regulator was at 2.4kHz. Both error amps has insufficient control feedback. Added a 1M resistor with a 100uF cap in parallel and the oscillation went away. See Figure 1.
• Engineering click bait article titles. Parker came up with "5 Cost Saving Tips No Contract Manufacturer Wants You to Know About". Stephen has "The PCB went in the oven. You will never guess what happens next".
• Parker wants to design a small battlebot type platform that utilizes an entire 16"x16" panel that includes the mechanical chassis parts. Can reuse the controller board for even larger bots.
• Popular Internet of Things forecast of 50 billion devices by 2020 is  outdated. Revised to 30 or so Billion depending on who you talk to.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro theme!

Podcast Notes

• Stephen is currently working on DipTrace part libraries and templates for DRC and CAM file generation. Should have an article out next week about it. GitHub repository for DipTrace files are located here.
• The BGA Escape article is complete! Read it on our  blog. See Figure 1.
• Parker finished up the USB Type-C test board. Download the files  here. He is using a  Molex 105450-0101 USB Type-C that is all SMD. See Figure 2.
• Progress on the KiCad footprints and part libraries. Check out what Dustin has done so far here.
• Stephen found out that KiCad uses ".pretty" as an extension format for the libraries. Parker thinks the developers thought it was good for KiCad's self esteem.
•  Toilet seat has a scale that tells you how much your excrement weighs. Stephen's IoT toilet exists.
•  Modular Moto Z Android phone supports DIY and RPi HAT add-ons. A modular cell phone you can buy right now as Project Ara hasn't seen any real hardware in customer hands yet. Has a SDK that allows talking to the interface.
• Parker asks "College is starting back up. As a Freshman Electrical Engineer what should you buy to get a leg up?". A  good breadboard and  jumper wires would help out in labs. Stephen and Parker will be putting together an Intro to Hardware article in the future.

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro theme!