business card

Learning PCB Design by creating a simple business card with LEDs whose blinking frequency is adjustable.

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In my journey of learning Electronics and PCB design, and with the philosophy "fail fast, fail often" in mind, I wanted to challenge myself with the 2024 Business Card Contest. I created a very simple business card with a couple of LEDs whose blinking frequency can be adjusted by a trimmer.

Project repository: https://github.com/lorenzopalloni/business_card/
I used KiCad 8.0.

Among others, I want to thank Shawn Hymel, Philip Salmony (Phil's Lab), and Charles Platt, from whom I have learnt a ton.

- KiCad Tutorial, by Shawn Hymel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3bNyZYHcRSUhUXUt51W6nKvxx2ORvUQB

- KiCad 7 STM32 Bluetooth Hardware Design (1/2 Schematic), by Phil's Lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkHFoxe0mrU

- Make: Electronics: Learn by Discovery, by Charles Platt: https://www.amazon.it/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/0596153740

The business card features two LEDs whose blinking frequency can be adjusted using a trimmer. This project was designed using KiCad 8.0.

Project Repository: https://github.com/lorenzopalloni/business_card/

I ordered my first PCB! :D
Lorenzo Palloni • 13 hours ago • 0 comments

It's official, I placed the order on PCBWay!

I'm eager to see if the board will work. 😬

The cost was pretty low: $6.5, and with a discount coupon, it was just $1.5. Including shipping, I paid about $10.0.

I chose a thickness of 1.0 mm instead of the default 1.6 mm. The cost was the same, but I'm worried that the PTH components might be too heavy for the thinner board.
Third snapshot of the project
Lorenzo Palloni • 14 hours ago • 0 comments
Second snapshot of the project
Lorenzo Palloni • 14 hours ago • 0 comments

The following screenshots represent a snapshot of the project status on the 15th of June 2024.
First snapshot of the project
Lorenzo Palloni • 14 hours ago • 0 comments

This is how the board looked at the beginning.