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• Cook'n with KiCad

  xBeau • 10/26/2018 at 00:02 • 0 comments

  Re-creation of Mike's https://hackaday.io/project/162054-shift-register-for-supercon-badge using a surface mount version of the 595 IC chip. I'm using the original Front/Back Copper layers from Voja's Gerbers and adding the surface mount pads for the IC's and discrete 0805/SOT-23's.
  
  I would recreate the entire layout, however I don't know that there is a better way to generate the 0.1" prototyping grid, and I'll probably eliminate most of the drill holes to make it easier to mill.
  
  

• Smells like progress

  xBeau • 10/25/2018 at 23:54 • 0 comments

  Laser cut 1:1 size board references. These two cuts were generated from new outlines based on the actual badge. The files are available as .dxf and .svg. These were done to sanity check the process of creating new expansion boards that would be compatible. Also with these I can actually hold the "board" in my hand and get a feel for the form factor and usability.
  

• Reading between the Gerbers

  xBeau • 10/24/2018 at 06:30 • 0 comments

  The "outputs" of what looks like the production version of the PCB's for both badge and expansion were posted to the official badge project, the zips contain a sub-folder with gerber files.

  In the process of converting the gerber files into a KiCad board file, you will get the following layers doing "Open Gerber Files...". Note that these leaves out a number of layers that use other file extensions naming conventions. The "Outline file was manually imported by selecting the "*.*" file type option.
  

  1. *.GBL  (Bottom Layer / B.Cu)
  2. *.GBO (Bottom Overlay / B.SilkS)
  3. *.GBP (Bottom Paste / B.Paste)
  4. *.GBS (Bottom Solder Resist / B.Mask)
  5. *.GTL (Top Layer / F.Cu)
  6. *.GTO (Top Overlay / F.SilkS)
  7. *.GTP (Top Paste / F.Paste)
  8. *.GTS (Top Solder Resist / F.Mask)
  9. *.Outline (Border / Edge.Cuts)

  The mapping to KiCad layer names is shown after the Gerber convention. This comes in hand when using the Export to Pcbnew from Gerber viewer.

  
  Also note that for whatever reason when I converted the *.Outline to Edge.Cuts, I got a duplicate outline of one on top of the other, which just caused the laser cutter to cut the same path twice.
  

• Image interperlations

  xBeau • 10/23/2018 at 20:40 • 0 comments

  Added scaled reference image, rotation and scale is corrected, there is still some skew, particularly from top to bottom along the sides. The image resolution is adjusted to 640 pixels per inch in GIMP, this results in the 0.1" hole spacing equating to 64 pixels. Also added some transparent PNG's that were pulled and scaled from data sheets as basic references for assessing footprints.

• chip pad sniff'n

  xBeau • 10/23/2018 at 08:34 • 0 comments

  Identifying most probable SMD IC's compatible with layout from left to right.
  
  8-SOIC

  16-SOIC

  16-TSSOP

  16-LGA (3x3mm)
  
  

  Wikipedia article with more information about standard chip packages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_integrated_circuit_packaging_types
  

• kickoff

  xBeau • 10/23/2018 at 05:37 • 0 comments

  Created hackaday.io project for documenting process of RE/hack. Downloaded basic imagery and info from hackaday article and project page https://hackaday.io/project/161859-2018-hackaday-superconference-badge & https://hackaday.com/2018/10/17/the-supercon-badge-is-a-freakin-computer/
  

  Straightened and inverted photo of presumably production version of "proto-board".
  

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