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PCBs!

A project log for Kilonomicon

A kinetic sculpture made from 1024 relays.

involuteInvolute 06/27/2018 at 05:250 Comments

I received my prototype PCBs (plus a stencil) for the module controller.

I only needed two, but the minimum order from Elecrow is five.  On the other hand, the cost for 10 is the same as for five, so I ordered 10.  And they sent 12.  All for the price of $17, plus another $16 for the stencil, and $21 for DHL shipping.  Not bad (assuming they work).  

I normally don't order stencils as they're easy to cut out of mylar on my laser cutter, but I was concerned about the DC-DC converter (the 10-pin part at the lower-left, between C9 and C10) as its fine pitch might be more than the mylar can handle.  Same for the eight MOSFETs across the top; $16 is cheap insurance.

I'll start bringing up one of these boards in the next few days, though the 16 eval relays are delayed and won't get here until next week, probably.  Plus, I still need to design and order the prototype frame for the relays, which I probably won't do until I have them in my hand.  So, not a lot of clicking for, realistically, another month or so.

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