Macrofab Engineering Podcast

MEP EP#264: Electronic Wear Items Tesla Recalls Cars With EMMC Failures, Calls Part A ‘Wear Item’ Wear items on cars are designed to be “easily” serviced Is this just a cop out to avoid warranty issues and recall problems? If the EMMC is a wear item it should have a recommended service interval but it does not Derek Fronek from the slack channel: “So it finally happened.... after all these years of using SD cards on pi's ive never had an SD card fail on me, until today.......” Resealing 12oz cans? 3D printed a sealing cap that screws onto a Yeti can insulator Testing it out over the weekend GM to extend vehicle plant shutdowns to more than a month The chip shortages we have been talking about? GM expects it to get worse. Ford cutting Pick Up Truck production! Shortage could lower Ford’s earnings in 2021 by $2.5 Billion Suppliers are saying by mid June they will be caught up PinoTaur REV 4 Prototype ordered Relay part number: G2RG-2A-X DC12 Changing c

MEP EP#263: Hoarders EditionChris Carter Owner of Mercury inc, a design consulting firm with expertise in electrical mechanical software and firmware development Was last seen on MEP episode 244 Comic Con for Engineers DFM For Safety As in Supply Chain Safety Difference in projects Project specific information Based on price and quantity breaks for components Multiple Vendors Vendor accessibility (location location location) Alternate sources Communications between contract manufacturer Too many cooks in the kitchen

MEP EP#262: Flex PCB PrimersParker Robert Feranec Published a video about what to consider when selecting chips for your new board design. Don’t want to steal Robert's content so go check him out. Hardware design and PCB Layout online course Comprehensive Power Supply System Designs for Harsh Automotive Environments Consume Minimal Space, Preserve Battery Charge, Feature Low EMI Analog engineer Bin Wu and previous Linear Tech engineer Zhongming Ye writing an application note with linear tech devices. ‘An Ideal Diode Satisfies Automotive Immunity Norms’ LT8672 Active rectifier controller Why is all this needed? Car power is dirty Load dumps Cold cranking Pulses ISO 7632-2 is a negative spike whose peak voltage exceeds −220 V! Reverse Polarity AC Ripple Stephen Wurth Elektronik on Flex PCBs Basically Polyimide foil with deposited copper 3 ways to create a system (from page 2) Heterogeneous Homogeneous Partial Homogeneous Full flex and Semiflex

MEP EP#261: Critical Path ComponentsParker What can you do to help alleviate component shortages and lead times in your design Last week we talked about automotive component shortages Passive components Most passives it is easy to find substitutes Check your specifications Components that have extraordinary specs for there package size Active components Diversify what you can Discretes Diodes Mosfets Integrated Components Different packages or packaging Connectors Different plating options possible? Other manufactures making similar or compatible parts Stephen Searching for components kind of sucks sometimes. Another Quick idea for making this easier Anything that is a complement Connectors Transistors Guessed BCP54 - BCP52 PCB Crosstalk Video by Robert Feranec with Eric Bogatin What causes PCB crosstalk? Capacitive coupling Inductive coupling Effects of pcb crosstalk How do we mitigate pcb crosstalk? One other form of “crosstalk”

MEP EP#260: A Couple Months Ago...Parker Homebrew going big Uncle runs a brewpub down in Alvin, Tx Going to help him repair and rebuild the brewery for post COVID Building more electrical boxes Chip shortages hit even as auto chip sales climb Ford and Fiat Chrysler are temporarily closing factories due to limited supplies of electronic components that are used in displays and transmissions Apple wants to make a self-driving electric car by 2024 VLSI Research report 4th quarter auto chip sales improved by 30% over the third quarter, reaching $6.2 billion Which is 11% above fourth quarter in 2019 Overall auto IC sales for 2020 were down about 6.4% from 2019 Tesla may be the best example of what happened in 2020, reaching sales of 499,000 new cars in all of 2020, an increase of 36% Stephen Searching for components kind of sucks sometimes. New idea for making this easier Connectors LDOs and other ICs Simple search removal that doesn't require that the engineer perform their own lo

MEP EP#259: TroncreteParker Your C@$% Is Mine Now We actually brought up the security report on this device back in Oct 2020 on episode MEP 245: K-factoring A Gumbo Qiui, the China-based manufacturer of the device, which is aptly called Cellmate, did not respond to a request for comment Stephen Solar Freaking Roadways! First talked about on MEP EP1… “France building a huge solar roadway. This again?” Solar Roadway Timeline 2006 solar roadways is founded 2009 - 100k small business innovation grant from USDOT 2011 - 750k small business innovation grant from USDOT to make small “parking lot” This is what shows up in all the videos. 2014 Indigogo campaign raises 2.2mil - the highest at the time 2016 given an additional 750k by USDOT 2016 Jeff Jones Town Square 30 panels Supposed 60k install cost Wiki - .25kW per day Typical Home install 1.45kW/day According to thunderF00T ⅓rd of the energy is consumed by the LEDs and the remainder is in heat. 2016 France installs Watt

MEP EP#258: Chainsaws, Wasps, Doom, and GloomParker PCBA Lead Times in Q1 2021 Supply chain disruption in 2020 started with the Lunar New Year and quickly extended into the COVID-19 2021 LNY falls between February 9 to February 16 COVID-19 Vaccines Logistic capacity being reserved for the vaccine distribution 10 Day service at MF will be the biggest hit. Guaranteed 10 day service will be disabled on January 13th and will resume on February 16th. On Dec. 31, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) allowed the exclusion for 2-layer and 4-layer printed circuit boards HS code to expire. Any orders for 2- and 4-layer products going forward or that have not yet been received into the U.S. will have a tariff surcharge if built in Mainland China. Other interesting PCB related things Copper – the price of copper has increased 68% YOY Gold – the price of gold has increased 22% YOY Resin – cost of epoxy resin has risen 40% since the recent fires at Epoxy Resins factories in China a

MEP EP#257: Viciously Different CreamsParker The ole ordered a 0603 and it was metric instead resulting in an 0201 imperial chip component. 0.6mm x 0.3mm = 0.024” x 0.012” 0201 imperial chip size only size that does not match the actual size Imperial 0201 is 24mil x 12mil... not 20mil x 10mil like the name implies Imperial 0603 is 60mil x 30mil 0603 metric is the only standard metric size that has the same size code as an imperial one! Does anyone actually use the metric sizing for chip components? Stephen Hardware v software - Features and their impact Hardware needs a lot of motivation to make a feature. It is slow and deliberate. Removing features is a big deal features by default cannot break the device unless extreme cases are encountered Software is "easier" to flip the switch on features. Have to consider all the ways this will break things. Kicad - Panelization Moving between layers has hotkeys - yay Middle mouse now by default pans and wheel is zoom Snap to

MEP EP#256: Color Clashing Chip ConsolidationParker Whats up with the Cat feeder unreminder? Still waiting on components to test with PinoTaur taking priority Email PDFs of wiring harnesses Jeep Fan Project Revisit Jeep Fan was a project idea to take sensor input from all over the Jeep and display on a VFD Universal Multi Gauge exist but kinda suck Rear view mirror has a screen in it Composite video? Stephen Negative in negative out SMPS Help from PhilG and Tom Anderson from the slack channel Need -5.5V that is derived from a -12V rail Cannot derive from a positive rail (would be easy) LTC3805 Design note 1022 Perhaps something is weird here. There were two app notes… now there are one… Current mirror solution for feedback voltage LT8302 is like 4 or 5 bucks in qty LT1070 Cool Chip - SSI2130 VCO core in a package Linear through zero

MEP EP#255: Fifth Annual MacroFab Star Wars Christmas Special - Neo JediParker SPACE TRASH in Star Wars Recently ESA commissioned the world’s first space debris removal ClearSpace-1 which will launch in 2025 Would space trash be a concern for the galaxy far far away? I don’t think the Empire cares all too much about space garbage since they just jettison everything before jumping to hyperspace as seen in Empires Strikes Back. If it was merely a case of if space was just big enough that dumping trash didn't matter then this wouldn't be a problem. The universe is “infinite” thus infinite space for GARBAGE! Maybe space trash ends up collecting into large space planets of trash like the floating trash islands on Earth’s oceans. In the legends or non canon StarWars literature you have the Squibs The imperials provided Squib salvage vessels with the locations of Imperial dumpsites so it can be collected Traveling through the planets CORE Boss Nass sends our heroes through the core o

MEP EP#254: Ridiculous Relay RatingsParker PinoTaur updates REV 4 Automotive relays are not certified to run at the voltages we need G2RL-1A-E-CV DC12 Max voltage rating is 300VDC “Rated” current is 24VDC at 16A G2RG-2A-X DC12 Rated at 500VDC at 10A Looking at other relays used for this purpose in production machines… Am I missing something in choosing the correct relay? RGB Light string split into two Power current is the reason Foxconn Electronics hit by Ransomware $34 million ransomware attack Stole 100 GB of unencrypted files, and deleted 20-30 TB of backups. Bike rack as an inductor? Other normal items that could be seen/used as a electrical components Stephen The FX Dev board returns 2 versions of the fx dev board now exist ProtoBoard Protis 1 Both look like they ditched my ac power supply for a charge pump design Protoboard uses TC1044SCPA Charge pump to create a -9V from a +9V Not sure what Protis uses but it is likely similar FCC was a very

MEP EP#253: Benjamin Jordan of AutodeskBenjamin Jordan A Computer Systems and PCB Engineer with over 25 years of experience in embedded systems, FPGA, and PCB design Is an avid tinkerer and is passionate about the creation of electronic devices of all kinds Holds a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honors from the University of Southern Queensland Currently Senior Product Manager for ECAD in Autodesk Fusion 360, and 16 years prior with Altium Recently licensed HAM radio operator Call Sign? Lots of Ham radio operators that listen to the podcast Do you still build and design PCBs? What EDA Tool do you use? History in the industry Eagle and Fusion 360 How they integrate Is the plan to change the name to Fusion PCB? Eventually one program? Layout from inside of fusion? The Future Of Eagle? Any juicy news? Trends in the EDA tools Twitter @jordanyte YouTube Schematica

MEP EP#252: Kicking Troglodytes Off The StageParker PCB serial numbering or other unique marking I have batches of boards and need to put some unique numeric identifier and a MAC address on each board. Besides stickers, laser etching, scratching or DIY stencil and paint, what are folks doing? PinoTaur REV 3 boards arrived REV 4 changes already ;) Ben Jordan of Autodesk will be a guest on the podcast Product manager and is responsible for the EAGLE product Get your Eagle questions in early! Stephen Adventures in Rpi 4 Midi overkill Clock master Possibly be a usb midi device? Reset? Repairs Roland TR-606 drum matrix Looks like a possible ram IC issue. The unit functions and does things that only a processor could do like blink leds at a particular rate None of the buttons have memory - they do not “store” anything Upd444c obsolete - 6514 SRAM is a drop in replacement The FX Dev board returns 2 versions of the fx dev board now exist ProtoBoard Protis 1 Both

MEP EP#251: Loopholes or EquivalentParker Wiring Harness update Wire Jacket Temperature rating Wire strandedness or number of strands Labeling Requirements? Treatment to pigtail end RoHs? The Untold Story Of The Bug That Almost Sank The Dreamcast's North American Launch Audio IC hardware layout problem Floating input pin causing the IC to flip into MIDI mode and crash the software BL6: The Coolest* Console Ever Video game console that is supposed to look like a 6 pack of beer Has two chilled spots that actively cool the beverages Six built in games like: Tekken7, SOUL CALIBUR VI and R.B.I Baseball 20 Ben Jordan of Autodesk will be a guest on the podcast Product manager and is responsible for the EAGLE product Get your Eagle questions in early! Stephen Adventures in Rpi 4 Did not get ERPnext running on the pi but I did dump about 10 to 15 hours into playing with the pi Need to do something with it ERPnext is pretty cool Check it out if you have the need to control

MEP EP#250: Artisan Sudo ToastersParker EXTRALIFE charity update How Biden may handle China and the electronics trade CHIPS Act Creating Helpful Incentives for Producing Semiconductors Incentives for the construction of semiconductor manufacturing facilities and equipment Calls for $300 billion in new funding over four years for R&D and breakthrough technologies like AI and quantum computing. “aggressive trade enforcement actions against China” Drawing wiring harness diagrams for contract manufacturing Stephen Adventures in Rpi 4 Microcenter trip 15 watts of power - no more no less Stephen isn't a linux guy… Trying to install ERPnext - open source enterprise resource planning ERPnext is an all in one business management software Accounting HR & Payroll Manufacturing Sales & Purchase CRM Projects

MEP EP#249: How Soft Are Your Diodes?Parker Signed up for the EXTRA LIFE charity this year to raise money for the Texas Children's Hospital This Saturday (Nov 7th) Parker will be broadcasting a 24 hour video game stream Will be playing the Half-Life 2 video game all the way through This includes the two episode expansions to the base campaign Difficulty level will be set to 'Hard' and I will be attempting to unlock all the achievements at the same time. Donations are tax-deductible and 100% of it goes to the hospital Learning some javascript to build plugins for the stream PinoTaur REV3 has gone gold Added more current sensing Low Current Allegro ACS70331EESATR-005B3 High Current Allegro ACS711KEXLT-15AB-T Changed Relay to a socketed relay type ISO micro relays type On PCB flyback diodes for coils MRA4004 Relay is driven by both the MCU and the Fault pin on the high current sensing IC Walmart fires store robots Saw improvements in inventory control with the robot

MEP EP#248: Keeping The Spirit Costs ExtraParker AMD to buy Xilinx for $35 billion in stock Wasn’t that long ago that Intel bought Altera Why such a merger? Sharing topography, technology, and manufacturing techniques Tariffs and the Election Engineers and Manufacturers have been decoupling from China for the last 4 years The big question is what happens next. If Biden wins, are the Trump tariffs gone? Or will we keep them? What happens if Trump wins? Tesla self driving Imagine learning there is no autonomous driving and it's just a bunch of dudes mechanically turking your car This could be the end game with Starlink. Work from Home Uber to drive cars! Johnny Cab Stephen Revitalizing old products What and how to “modernize” electronics Design decisions Through Hole vs SMD Component Placement Design for machines Packages Keeping the spirit of the original Beware of single sourcing Semiconductor facility fire

MEP EP#247: To Bake an Apple PieParker PCB Stackup Why is it important to manufacturing? Who should define it? CM? PCB Fabricator? Designer? PCB Bodges Your worst bodge Most proud bodge? DIY Glycol chilling? Chiller Daddy Pump Diverter Stephen Brexit and the UKCA Mark New regulatory mark to make things easier… Goes into affect 1 January 2021 The UKCA marking can be used from 1 January 2021. However, to allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, you will still be able to use the CE marking until 1 January 2022 in most cases. The UKCA marking alone cannot be used for goods placed on the Northern Ireland market, which require the CE marking or UK(NI) marking.

MEP EP#246: Doing Something MagicalParker Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene University of Arkansas physicists Energy harvesting the thermal motion of graphene Without getting all quantum about it, it seems to work by configuring the graphene as one electrode (or both) of a capacitor. As the graphene flaps in the breeze (actually Brownian motion, I assume), the changing geometry will change the capacitance. The team's next objective is to determine if the DC current can be stored in a capacitor for later use Youtube video Stephen New test equipment design - picking the right opamp Current sensing with a bit of a twist Powered by +/-12V Need to read current on the +12 and the -12 along with a +9V rail Opamp needs to be capable of reading a voltage drop in an environment where the common mode voltage is at or near the opamp supply voltage Current sense amplifiers INA1x9 series amplifiers from TI Supply and common mode range are independent of e

MEP EP#245: K-Factoring a GumboParker Security flaw left ‘smart’ chastity sex toy users at risk of permanent lock-in List to podcast for additional information... Stephen Fusion 360 has changed their personal license subscription model All of these went into effect on Oct 1 Project storage is limited to 10 active and editable documents Exports are now limited to a small number of file types. Thankfully this still includes STL files but alas, DXF, DWG, PDF exports are all gone Perhaps most importantly to the makerverse, STEP, SAT, and IGES file types can no longer be exported, the most common files for those who want to edit a design using different software. 2D drawings can now only be single sheet, and can only be printed or plotted Rendering can now only be done locally, so leveraging cloud-based rendering is no longer possible CAM support has been drastically cut back: no more multi-axis milling, probing, automatic tool changes, or rapid feeds, but support for 2, 2.5, and 3 axis remain