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Basic Design

A project log for Enlightened-Otter

The worklight for hacker events

jana-marieJana Marie 04/22/2019 at 16:410 Comments

The idea for the mechanical design was already born at the GPN. Since lamp holders and feet are unnecessary balast during transport, I first looked for a replacement for them. A Resurce that is available on every event are empty bottles, especially Club Mate bottles. So I want to use an empty mate bottle as a base.

Another advantage that came up later, is that a mate bottle with a lamp on top is always below eye level and therefore does not dazzle.

With a bottle as the base, a round "UFO"-like design with batteries between the LEDs and the main board is obvious. Since the LEDs have to dissipate some energy/heat, I will have to use an aluminiumcore pcb for the LED board. Another thing to keep in mind is, that a thread for the bottle is needed, it will be 3D-printed and needs a matching hole. Such a circuit board is not available at AliExpress, so I have to design it myself.

All other components will find their place on the main pcb. This includes a STM32f334 as processor and a RT9466. I chose the STM32f334 because it has a 4.6Ghz timer which can be used for PWM. Also the processor has hardware comparators which can stop the timer in case of emergency (e.g. short circuit, overvoltage) and a touch controller. I want to use a PCB touch slider as well as touch buttons for control of Enlightened Otter.

The RT9466 is a highly integrated battery management IC often used in smartphones. I want to use it because of the power path and the shipping mode feature. Especially the shipping mode feature allows me to store Enlightened Otter when not in use for long time.

As I want to store two 18650 type Batteries in between the two PCBs, I have to find a way to connect both boards while having enough space. I am thinking about soldering pcb-spacer screws to the main board.


With all that settled I can start with prototyping.

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