Macrofab Engineering Podcast

Parker and Stephen speak with Paul V. McEnroe, an award-winning engineer who developed multiple state-of-the-art technologies during his long career, including more than two decades in leadership roles at IBM. McEnroe is best known for his primary role in developing the Universal Product Code (UPC), the barcode used on every product in supermarkets and the retail industry, and the scanners that read them. In 2023, the barcode celebrates its 50th anniversary but now Paul is setting the record straight on the real story with his new book, THE BARCODE - How a Team Created One of the World's Most Ubiquitous Technologies. The discussion also covered subjects like being car nuts and Paul’s past ownership of a Buick Torpedo, a TR3, a Porsche Super 90, and a Jag XK150S Roadster, his apparent aptitude for being a mortician, control units and mainframes, where lasers were sourced from at the time, buying monkeys from Africa, owning the patent on the pistol grip scanner, what to make of QR codes, and much more! Relevant

Parker and Stephen check in with the new Circuit Break Discourse community and a Chip of the Week discussion initiated by mobius_striptease, a closer look at the LT3073 3A, Ultra-Low Noise, High PSRR, 45mV Dropout Ultra-Fast Linear Regulator, a discussion about in and out pads ensues, Parker digs into Weldestroyer updates and how he found that a footswitch could not handle sourcing much current, which means my analog solution is out of the question, Parker provides a Box Truk update, focusing upon the A/C Selector and Protection Panel, exploring Shore power, and much more! Relevant links: Chip of The Week LT3073 Datasheet and Product Info | Analog Devices 5 MEP EP#276: Skippy Documentation MEP EP#398: Duke Nukem v. Parker, Raspberry Pi 5, Weldestroyer! MEP EP#378: Crawfish Conundrum Join the Circuit Break Discourse Community! 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 discus

Parker and Stephen discuss Parker’s participation in Extra Life Day: Revenge of the Holiday Special on November 4, 2023, in which he’ll be playing and streaming STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order for 24 hours to raise funds for kids at his local Texas Children's Hospital, the related but unusual Star Wars Halloween costume he’ll be donning this year, checking in with the new Circuit Break Discourse community, how member Tom_Look prompted a discussion about how people organize projects, ideas, and part numbers, and extensive catch-up and update about Parker’s Box Truk, and  much more! Relevant links: Extra Life Day: Revenge of the Holiday Special Join the Circuit Break Discourse Community! Organizing and documenting projects Box Truk - Solar Panel Project MEP EP#378: Crawfish Conundrum 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 podcast@macrofab.com.  

Parker and Stephen have a great talk with Greg Norman, a recording engineer, producer, and technician at Steve Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio, in Chicago, who also constructs and repairs various audio devices out of necessity and general interest, under the name, Normaphone. Greg discusses his background and early “pre-Google” experiments and learnings, how to create a low-noise studio space and how your neighbors might unwittingly interfere with such things, why he has had to invent or upgrade certain audio engineering tools and whether or not there’s a market for these products, learning from and helping others in his field, what it’s like working with musicians, plus much more! Relevant links: Electrical Audio Normaphone MEP EP#60: JOSH the mastermind behind the audio of the podcast MEP EP#56: Gotta Look Pro 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 ema

Parker and Stephen celebrate episode 400 of the MacroFab Engineering Podcast and announce its relaunch as Circuit Break starting next week, plus a discussion about MacroFab’s tenth anniversary, the end of our Slack channel and launch of our new Circuit Break Community hub, a brief history of this podcast and its trajectory, key projects that have been completed or else relegated to the shadow realm, plus much more! Relevant links: Celebrating 10 years of MacroFab (twitter) *NEW* Join our Circuit Break Community! MEP EP#356: Don't Let AI Brew Your Beer MEP EP#355: The One They Talk About Football Fields For a Long Time 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 podcast@macrofab.com.  

Parker and Stephen welcome Josh Manley back to the show to discuss how humans and CAD can interact! Josh is the co-owner and CEO of CADClass.org. Through a comprehensive array of courses and literature, CADClass.org provides education of various software and design methodologies, catering to individuals across all proficiency levels. Since 2010, Josh has been utilizing his experience to create educational opportunities for anyone and everyone who wants to learn engineering skills. Here, he joins us to have a spirited discussion about CAD, 3D, and how such things can communicate and be taught to students who want to dig into this exciting new technological realm!Relevant links: MEP EP#389: The aCADemy of Education - Joshua Manley of CADClass.org The Ultimate Online Fusion 360 CAD School The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the CAD Industry 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 slack channel

Parker and Stephen discuss Parker’s past and upcoming Extra Life Day charity work, in which he plays video games like Duke Nukem and STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a rather deep dive into the newly launched Raspberry Pi 5, personal project updates from Stephen about the Weldestroyer 3000, and much more! Relevant links: Extra Life Day: Revenge of the Holiday Special MEP EP#105: Community Dice Introducing : Raspberry Pi 5 MEP EP#361: Cold Welding This Podcast Together 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 slack channel at Macrofab dot com / slack or email us at podcast@macrofab.com. 

Parker and Stephen discuss community feedback that led Parker to order a Bambu X1 Carbon 3D Printer, which should be arriving any day now, S to the L to the A, “guardrails” that the U.S. Commerce Department has placed on the CHIPS for America program, the healthy job market for engineers in America right now, flagging down the double E’s, how to teach engineering students properly, new math, and much more! Relevant links: MEP EP#394: GPUs D.O.A, Reverse Polarity Problems, 3D Printer Pickles US Commerce issues final national security guardrails on CHIPS incentives How Does the CHIPS Act Affect Manufacturing? MEP EP#388: CHIPS Can’t Dip 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 slack channel at Macrofab dot com / slack or email us at podcast@macrofab.com. 

Parker and Stephen discuss the Cloudlifter mechanism they now use to help enhance the sound of this podcast, what phantom power is and what it actually does, more reverse polarity protections from the community, some of this show’s most audible fans, down with Slack, up with Discourse, an overdue box truck update, and much more. Relevant links: What Does a Cloudlifter Do (And Should You Be Using One)? What is Phantom Power & Why Do I Need It? Ideal Diode Bridge Controller MEP EP#110: Dangling Transformers 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 slack channel at Macrofab dot com / slack or email us at podcast@macrofab.com. 

Parker and Stephen discuss power-only USB Type-C connectors entering the marketplace, Apple being forced to convert iPhones to USB-C after the EU established and enforced the Common Charger Directive and what such government legislations might mean for tech innovation, community discussion about reverse polarity protection, how the new Slack GUI is both not good and unnecessary, busy work vs. actual redevelopment, and much more. Relevant links: UJC Power-Only USB Type-C™ Receptacles How to Navigate Apple’s Shift From Lightning to USB-C Apple adds USB 3 speeds to iPhone 15 Pro but you won’t get those out of the box MEP EP#332: This Podcast Intentionally Left Blank 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 slack channel at Macrofab dot com / slack or email us at podcast@macrofab.com. 

Parker and Stephen discuss some MacroFab updates including news about their pod community and Slack, what’s wrong and right about high-end GPUs and the marvels of KrisFix and his YouTube repair channel, what’s up with consumer electronics and their lack of reverse polarity protection, and Parker muses about when it’s time to call it day for a 3D Printer. More on these topics:Community: New community hub! Shifting away from the Slack channel? Are you in or near Houston, Texas any time soon? Please come out to Beers for Engineers! More info below!  Dead on Arrival for high end GPUs - Nvidia RTX 4090 - The biggest problem with modern cards that the manufacturer refuses to repair KrisFix’s repair skills Popping the pad Too much Board Flex “RTX Technology Package” (air quotes)  Decoding NVIDIA 5000 Series Rumours? Why do so many consumer electronics not have reverse polarity protection? Looking through Windows Can’t turn it up to 11 Motherboards of Invention  Guitar Pedal Problems The hot leg The P Channel Set-up

Parker and Stephen discuss Infineon’s use of recyclable PCBs from Jiva Materials to create a soluboard, a recyclable and biodegradable PCB substrate, and its ecological and efficiency implications, an examination of the new Arduino Uno, which replaces the ATMEGA328P with two new models, Minima and Wifi, plus a CNC update and an extended meditation on saw blades and what they can and cannot actually cut.More on these topics:Infineon uses recyclable PCBs from Jiva Materials The fibers are natural and have a lower impact than traditional glass based fibers. 7.1kg and the carbon footprint of one square meter of standard FR-4 PCB is estimated to be 17.7kg. Does anyone really know what “carbon footprint” means? The non-toxic polymer that binds the fibers dissolves when immersed in hot water, leaving only compostable organic material. The polymer in the water can be disposed of in normal waste water. 7.1kg and the carbon footprint of one square meter of standard FR-4 PCB is estimated to be 17.7kg. A 60% waste redu

Matt has been teaching Robotics and Embedded Systems at the University of Advancing Technology since 2019. Before that, he worked in the pharmaceutical Industry for 15 years, primarily for Cardinal Health where he made radiopharmaceuticals (radioactive drugs) and worked as the Quality Unit in production for seven years, before switching to R&D as a Senior Principal Scientist. Guests:Matthew Prater from the University of Advancing TechnologyIncreasing the dosage Matt on how he began making radiopharmaceuticals Going from manufacturing five to thousands of doses a day Programming robotics…with an Excel sheet? Enviable synthesis machines Up Late to Fight Cancer Baking radioactive fluorine Cancer cells that eat and make babies Chemistry and Robots “$130,000 to go from 23 seconds to forever” Check flights to Fargo at 3 AM before drugs died House and ER and radioactivity and PET in cancer treatments Getting the fluorine carbon bond to happen where you want to A little bit of spicy sugar The F-18 Radioactive Tr

This special episode is recorded at DEF CON, the annual hacker community gathering in Las Vegas.  Hyr0n and Zapp from AND!XOR dive into the troubleshooting and triumphs of the Snackey vending machine project. From battling long queues to AI-enhanced innovation and mind-boggling challenges, explore the technical and creative journey behind this badge that will ignite your taste buds! Guests:Hyr0n & Zapp from AND!XOR  Troubleshooting Snackey at DEF CON  Snackey was a hit!  The vending machine attracted 2-hour long queues  Troubleshooting a myriad of issues from a bag of potato chips getting stuck to power and display malfunctions A primary glitch: Snackey refused to boot up, only to discover an extension cord mistaken for the real power source AI-Enhanced Snackey and Delving into Design  Behind the scenes, the badge's back-end infrastructure hinged on CircuitPython, while AI, including Bard and ChatGPT, played a pivotal role in certain aspects An example of AI integration: modifying the progress bar script

Join physicist and electrical engineering historian, Kathy Joseph, as she unravels captivating human stories behind electricity's evolution.  Discover quirky experiments and eccentric scientists like self-deprecating Heinrich Hertz and self-proclaimed wizard Matthias Bose. Learn how historical knowledge and storytelling inspire present and future engineers.Guests:Kathy Joseph, Physicist and Electrical Engineering Historical Expert Introduction to Kathy and Her Passion for the History of Science:  Kathy's spark for electrical engineering history ignited when students misconceived electricity's source as "a plug in the wall"

This week we’re joined by Josh Manley, Co-Owner and CEO of CADClass.org. Through a comprehensive array of courses and literature, CADClass.org provides education of various software and design methodologies, catering to individuals across all proficiency levels.  Since 2010 Josh has been utilizing his experience to create educational opportunities for anyone and everyone who wants to learn engineering skills. Guests:Josh Manley from CADclass.org Overcoming CAD misconceptions 3D printing has incredible applications beyond "toys" Most YouTube portrayals of CAD often condense the work and set unrealistic expectations Building a successful learning community: Going beyond video content Leveraging social discussion tools Giving the community a voice for their goals and needs Summary/Takeaways: Effective education requires real-world (and exciting) applications for students CAD education must incorporate traditional engineering principals in order to have physical world success Connect with Josh: Programs can be fo

This week we’re joined by David Schild, the Executive Director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA). PCBAA is a consortium of American companies supporting domestic production of printed circuit boards and the materials they are made of. An established leader and trusted advocate, Schild has over 20 years of experience managing political involvement, corporate public relations and public policy efforts for the aerospace and defense industry and advocates for the CHIPS Act and PCBS Act. Text:Guests:David Schild from the PCBAAIntro to U.S. public policy impacting the microelectronic industry The impact of globalization, corporate consolidation, and reshoring  The CHIPS Act as a model and way forward to avoid supply chain issues Bringing manufacturing ecosystems back to America The CHIPS Act’s $52 billion endowment with tax credits to motivate companies to create in America How far can American manufacturing subsidies really go? “Private money follows public action” We’re down to single po

Join us as we chat with Hyr0n and Zapp from AND!XOR Group about their iconic badges for DEF CON 31. Learn about the challenges and creative process behind their badges, including the returning Snackey Vending Machine. Discover how AI enhances their workflow while uncovering its limitations. Get ready for a captivating conversation!Text:Guests:Hyr0n & Zapp from AND!XOR  Intro to AND!XOR and Previous Badge Designs for DEF CON A brief history of AND!XOR group  The origins of Hyr0n & Zapp’s involvement in creating badges for DEF CON  Recapping previous DEF CON badges, including last year’s Project Snackey  The challenges of previous years badge design, including troubleshooting voltage issues and a weird bug that developed in Snackey halfway through DEF CON last year DEF CON 31: Snackey is back!  Exciting news: Snackey Vending Machine is back with new improvements!  Balancing aesthetics and technical features while troubleshooting badge challenges Leveraging AI tools to enhance efficiency and accuracy in

Delve into the world of AI in chip design, exploring the limitations and benefits of AI, its impact on productivity and the labor market, and the future of this technology. We also join Parker on another exciting installment of his Box Truck project as he converts a truck into an RV.  We discuss the limitations of warranties and power systems for conversions. Tune in for a captivating conversation!Text:AI Can't Design Chips Without People

In the spirit of summer, we kick off this week with a  timely discussion of whether you can cook food on the engine of your car; how hot would your exhaust pipes even need to be? Stephen shares the current challenges he’s facing with his CNC (computer numerical control) project; avoiding messy wiring, dos and don’ts of using electrical tape and when to upgrade to a bigger 3D printing.  We also discuss the special place in Hell for the person at the hardware store who puts the wrong screw in the wrong drawer.