Macrofab Engineering Podcast

MEP EP#224: The Normal ChaosStephen DC Heating and Thermal Testing A low voltage moderate current linear power supply 12.6V dc @ 0.55A 6.93W LM2940T-12.0 LDO TIP42 bootstrap transistor to share the load 12V @ 2A transformer supplies ~16.2vdc with 200mV ripple ~2W of heat to be handled Shooting for about 250mW in the regulator and the transistor then the rest will get dumped in some resistors PCB heatsinking Diptrace 4.0 is finally here! Snapping and aligning items Circles and arcs actually have a center now… Paste and Mask layers are finally visible Pad angles other than 0 and 90 are now available in the pattern editor One button for removing silkscreen from pads Progressive searching for components instead of the seizure it used to be Export options now can export all the manufacturing files as a single zip Teardrops! Parker Wagoneer Engine Work Timing cover Water pump Timing chain Distributor gear Distributor camshaft gear Harmonic Balancer All the gaskets Radiato

MEP EP#223: The Inverted Success Funnel - IdeaFabThe Idea Tank Podcast Scott Hansen and Eric Benzenhoefer are idea men who, not humbly, seek to change the world through sharing their million dollar ideas, and humbly, seek to make a podcast talking about their idea Scott and Eric where last seen on the MEP on Episode 77: The IdeaFab Podcast The Ideas King...or Queen... of Cooking Saving the restaurant industry Allow entry level chiefs compete in restaurants Big Brother Brands You already have a gig job and you should be earning money TVs are subsidized by selling your data to marketing companies You should get that money instead! Go Aw-ai An automated texting service for continuing conversations that you no longer want to have Measures and records all of your other conversations and gives appropriate responses DMPR.io The #1 app for those going #2. Chat/dating with other dmprs Yelp for bathrooms What is the closest bathroom

MEP EP#222: Turning It On - New Design Checklists with James LewisJames Lewis His passion for teaching non-engineers has led him to create the Baldengineer Blog and the AddOhms video tutorial series With 20 years of experience in electronics, marketing, sales, and teaching, James boils seemingly difficult concepts down to the core, so that anyone can learn what they need to finish that next great project James was on the previous MEP EP#141: It Depends – An In Depth Look at MLCCs with James Lewis How to test and validate if your new PCB Assembly is working properly What do you do before power on? Component checks? Current limiting? Voltage limiting? The Smoke Test What do you do if it all goes up in smoke? Validating power systems or supplies Equipment for testing IR cameras for looking for hot spots Minimal viable electronic lab equipment Digital Multimeter auto ranging true RMS measure/verify caps (but gotta take it out of circuit) Consider bench style Power Supply Po

MEP EP#221: ThunderOhm StyleJosh Rozier Been on the previous MEP episodes MEP EP#152: Third Annual MacroFab Star Wars Christmas Special – Vader’s Fake Fingers MEP EP#174: Apply Inspiration Here MEP EP#178: Little Shop of Transformer Horror MEP EP#204: Fourth Annual MacroFab Star Wars Christmas Special – C3PO Steals the Show Layout Experiences The What-A-Booster Reverb Pedal Power supply Through hole to SMD transition EDA tools What and how did you get started? Analog stuff? Starting to mess with opamps Making PCBs from scratch What methods did you try? Will you ever do it again? Ordering fresh boards hot from the oven

MEP EP#220: Blinky is 90% of Your ProjectParker Hoppes #9 for the printer seems to work well Will it hold up long term? Still waiting on fans for the printer and other various parts Jeep Fan Evolution Fabio and Roger on the MacroFab Slack channel has suggested the nRF Series NRF52-DK Arduino compatible Stephen Connector Woes JST style connectors A family big enough to have their own wiki Hackaday has a good article Looking at XH series 2.5mm RC battery pack connector CNC radiator 5 gallons of DI water with automotive antifreeze Warmed up after 3 hours of cutting Rapid Fire Opinion The Myth of the three capacitor values Could this be the next project for the MEP?

MEP EP#219: Virtual Earth MixersParker Brewery Update Still bending tubes Going cheap and buying a roll of stainless steel tubing was a mistake Started looking into the Jeep Fan controller project again Evolving into a Body control module Investigating the best way to add wireless remote control? Pinotaur LED REV2 design is completed Using those APA-102C-NEW-260 Working on a motor controller add-on for the Pinotaur board Socketed motor controllers allow stepper or DC motor control Stephen Rotary switches Three datasheets and all are wrong… VAAPA: Variable Architecture And Parameters Amplifier CNC Update Working on greater accuracy Most cuts are within 0.005 but certain situations can make it up to 0.01 Got a O flute bit in. Feeds and speeds Analog tricks Clipping opamp in feedback Virtual earth mixer is no longer a virtual earth Rapid Fire Opinion Arrow Electronics launches European FPGA Developer Contest 2020 Entry via the Arrow European FPGA Develope

MEP EP#218: Like Old CheeseParker 3D printer upgrades Waiting on parts Brewery Printed the pump brackets Bending Tubes and mounting brackets tonight Stephen Frequency counter woes Found the led driver. It is not a pic like was suggested ZLG7289BS Translated the document Page 7 has a schematic that looks like it will help Rotary switching Doing it “right” this time Purchasing the switch before designing the board Part numbers STmicro website? Why? Dave Jones and documentation Rapid Fire Opinion Wanted: Practical App Note Suggestions Chris Gammel posed the question on the The Amp Hour subreddit

MEP EP#217: Frequency Stability DependabilityParker Reverse Engineering Tools? Calipers Edge profile gauge Dial indicator with radius gauge attachment Angle finder/gauge Good Scanner? 3D printer improvements for the Monoprice Ultimate Maker Stuff it already has Internal RaspPi running octoprint MicroSwiss metal hot end Enclosure BLTouch Better cable management Fixed print surface improvements Fan upgrades Switch to a faster bed heater? Lubrication suggestions? Stephen Hacking a frequency counter 2 new designs at work that are highly dependent on frequency stability 3156 Amazon wonder Where and how to read values Arduino solution? Simulation: Arbitrary sources Adding functions to your voltage and current sources VCA and controls Non-linear circuits Rapid Fire Opinion A NES Motherboard For The Open Source Generation All but two parts are readily available CIC lockout chip UA6527 cpu Reversed pulse wave from the original cpu NES Clone

MEP EP#216: I’d Buy That For Five DollarsParker Python PDF Looked at peoples suggestions and none really did what I needed FPDF will do for now since I have made a template already Most suggestions are building HTML then converting to PDF which is fine but not really a good solution Zebra Printers ZPL or Zebra Programming Language ZT230 ZD420 My process so far for making a ZPL webapp thingy Zebra Designer 3 for Developers Makes the Template Push Template over to printer Use Variables for fields you want to “input” Zebra Setup Utilities Allows talking to the printer easily Zebra Browser Print SDK Makes a USB bridge to a local web server Web Server for Chrome Used to point to where your application is at Application is written in Javascript Stephen CNC is fully functional! Calibrated the three axis Ran cable “tubes” Set up spindle control Table surfacing 4 flute 2&1/32 in diameter surfacing bit 12,000 RPM 100ipm 0.005-0.01 DOC

MEP EP#215: Just Another Meatloaf TitleParker Brewery Update Pump mount design completed 3D printed brackets Bending tubing this week! Need to finish the last bit of wiring in the electrical box Python PDF Creation Why do they all suck? Currently using fpdf Stephen CNC Update Moving...mostly Still need to get the X-axis moving Sprockets to weld on Will try rotational tig welding Midi to G-Code Motor Cable Igus 16/4 plus braided shield Chainflex Best way to attach the shield? Rack Mount Amplifier Replaced the transformer last week to boost the votlage Went from a 12:230 to a 10:230 ratio for a 20% increase Output changed exactly by 20%....go figure! Rapid Fire Opinion 3D printed forms for sheet metal pressing? Sort of Worked... Interesting to see the progress but it still required a mill to get a usable form With more experimentation and proper design of the part to be bent this could be a real option 3D printed tool punches as well

MEP EP#214: It is Probably SafeParker Just got back from vacation Have not worked on any projects since last episode Watched lots of old er James Bond movies Should we do a Spy gadget episode if we can get the right guest? Stephen Simulation of the Week: Behringer Model D Oscillator Core Lots of cool stuff going on Exponential converter Constant current capacitor Discrete opamp with discrete comparator CNC Update Base built and topped with a torsion box ¾” MDF construction Gantry is on but needs some love New Spindle has 80mm mount This does not fit on my current z axis Make a mounting bracket with leftover aluminum from previous project New transformer for rackmount guitar preamp Old configuration was to do a 115:12.6 transformer then feed that into a 12:230 to get back up to high voltage Simple math says 230/12 = 19.16 so, 12.6*19.16 = 241.41VRMS = 341.36VDC In reality I am getting 250V…. Hopefully with the new transformer ratio I will get closer to 300V whi

MEP EP#213: My CNC Will Melt In Your MouthParker Going to be doing Webinars for MacroFab. How MFs tools make you a better electrical engineer and supply chain manager Learning AutoDesk Fusion360 Getting pretty good Learning from Youtube and Stephen Can be almost as fast and proficient as Parker was in Sketchup Braze it 420 Learning to braze brass radiators and steel gas tanks Make sure there is no gas fumes! Stephen CNC Trying to buck the standard Jointer/Planer -> table -> electrical work -> table saw -> torsion box -> gantry restoration -> new spindle New 220V for the following Welding Brewing CNC machine Fermentation controller Audibles on some design characteristics Switches/encoders Probably going to go with wiring instead of all PCB mount Footprints for Solid State Relays Rapid Fire Opinion Raspberry pi 4 release fixes the USB problem This is being treated as a “design for manufacturability” change Lumped along with some silksc

MEP EP#212: The End of Electronics Manufacturing?!Chris Church Founder and current Chief Product Officer of MacroFab Inc The former founder of Dynamic Perception The former Co-Founder and Chief Architect of Alert Logic Was on the previous MacroFab Engineering Podcast episodes #127: Tariff Impacts #142: Supply Chain Conspiracy Securities COVID-19 Outbreak in China Topic today is the Coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak in China and its impact on the global Electronic Manufacturing Supply Chain If you want to know more about the virus itself I suggest going to the CDC website ~80% of factories in general are back to work in China, but only about 21% are fully staffed PCB Vendors Extended holiday, workers at a lot of Chinese plants who went home weren’t allowed to come back for two weeks We have lots of production in Taiwan Taiwan blocked all entrance to mainland Chinese on the 5th of February, many limits still in place This is causing significant delays in engineering time for new PC

MEP EP#211: Credit Card Vigilantes - Skim ReaperPatrick Traynor CEO of Skim Reaper The Dasburg Family Preeminent Chair in Engineering in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida Christian Peeters CTO of Skim Reaper Ph.D Student in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida Skim Reaper What is Skim Reaper How does it work? Behind the name Did you know that when your PCB's first hit our production line we thought you were manufacturing a skimming device! Swipe vs Chip How did you start? What was the beginning of the project? The hardware itself Form Factor challenges Engineering Roadblocks you had to overcome? Growing your business What is your method for getting media coverage to spread the news about the Skim Reaper device Plans for future growth and market expansion So if someone detects a skimmer..what do they do?

MEP EP#210: Valentina Toll Villagra and Kyle Dumont with Allspice.ioKyle Dumont Experienced electronics designer having launched consumer products at large companies and startups for over 7 years Has developed low volume products for government and military applications and high volume commercial products Valentina Toll Villagra Project Manager exploring the intersection of physical and digital systems at Allspice Worked at Amazon expanding its national customer fulfillment network and rolling out internal productivity, collaboration and project management software applications to support the company's growth Allspice.io Rundown of the platform Where did the name come from How did it begin? The word “Agile” gets thrown around a lot. Mechanical engineers have 3D printing and Software developers have great design and test tools. What are your roles? Kyle – Development, strategy Valentina – Operations, customer success, marketing, product

MEP EP#209: A Bad User ExperienceParker Pinotaur REV2 is flipping a machine now Light strips using APA-102C-260-NEW Brew Cart welded up! Gotta design a hoist to lift the grain in and out of the mash tun Stephen Simulation of the week Bandpass with monte Carlo and gaussian tolerance Fermentation controller More Parts! 40A Solid State Relay BEM-14840DA Tactile switch 700SP7M1QEAP2BLKBLK 4x4 tactile keypad ADC reading? RobotDyn Button Keypad 4x4 Module 4x4 membrane style - kind of industrial Yootop 2 pcs 16 Keys Matrix Membrane Switch Keypad Keyboard for Arduino Rapid Fire Opinion MagicWolfi from the slack channel asks "How is it done in the factory and maybe some ideas what to do at home? This is painful if it is more than a few boards." The 5 best arduino projects

MEP EP#208: Brian Kaczynski with Second SoundBrian Kaczhnski Brian earned his Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2001 Has worked since 1999 as a mixed-signal/RF ASIC designer focusing mainly on LAN applications such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, etc His passion for music and desire to bridge the gap between acoustic/electric instruments and music synthesizers (both analog and digital) inspire his current work Second Sound Why the name Second Sound? It sounds cool and refers to a quantum mechanical phenomenon How many employees? ACO100 and ACO160 ICs What is an audio controlled oscillator? Frequency detection ACO160 vs ACO100 Moving from custom Ic to Firmware solution? What drove this decision? How does this differ from the hardware solution? Will you be offering the ACO100 IC? Development Boards Integrated Circuit creation How did you go about designing these chips? Software? Required Files? What was your process of

MEP EP#207: Beating Dragons with QuartersParker PinoTaur Revision 2 Passes smoke and programming test Onward to shipping it off to testers and programmers Have a friend that has a couple empty pinball cabinets List for Revision 3 Change fuse holders to Keystone 3588 Fix a couple none chamfered traces Update Logos Full backside artwork What is next for the PinoTaur project? LED Boards using the APA-102C-NEW-260 that I have been testing Wiring Harness Designs Audio Amp for the RPI PCM5122 + Class D Amp Stephen Simulation of the Week AC analysis 2nd order low pass filter Sallen-Key topology Two examples with different cutoffs and Q Next week - Monty Carlo and Gaussian distributions of tolerances Fermentation Controller Resurrecting the walking dead Schematic is getting updated Modifying system design for buttons instead of membrane switches This is for robustness Will be milling enclosures Most of the layout is complete Need to

MEP EP#206: The Analog State of Amazon Brand NamesParker PinoTaur PCBA should be done tomorrow when this podcast comes out PTH parts ordered from Mouser Brewery Setup Brewery Pots complete Tube straightening Need to weld the cart Go to a tiered setup just to reduce footprint? Dunno yet. Stephen Dave Jones to the rescue With spit... New resistor kit 3350 1% 1/4W resistors 134 Different Values Breadboard techniques LT spice Simulation Full Wave Rectifier Three different opamp choices LM741 TL072 OPA1678 Looking at the differences between the opamps and the diode choice Comparators Analog and Logic Input offset and bias currents Propagation Delay Overdrive Rapid Fire Opinion AllSpice SecondSound Frequency to Voltage converter ACO160

MEP EP#205: Disgusting SurgeParker MacroFab PCB Specification Update PCBs now have advanced PCB specifications Stack Ups Advanced Via management UL Logo control Surface Finish PinoTaur REV 2 PCBs arrive Assembled Soon to a pick and place near you Stephen Hellhound preamp Episode 199 Doing a partial product design prototype. Split into two. Back to back transformer design works well but has some unpredictable operation The primaries are not regulated as well as the secondaries Gyrator episode 173 Looked at the 4 band equalizer on my scope and compared to the SPICE simulations Almost 1:1 with simulation $10 dollar switch Alternative? 1004P6T1B4M7RE Rapid Fire Opinion Our favorite podcast episodes of 2019? Discrete Atomic Luffa Control Ben and Chris talking about 3D printers and Luffas Ken and Chip Gracey of Parallax Inc Chip and Ken are super passionate about semiconductors! Honorable Mention: The Fourth Rule of Robot