• Soldering the PCB

    Sanjit Sarda • 09/18/2024 at 02:44 • 0 comments

    While soldering(especially with SMD components), I like soldering small components first and then bigger ones. I started with the Resistors and LEDs, and then the pushbutton, and then the battery holders.

    While I did;t really need one, using a microscope to solder the SMD LEDs was helpful. 

  • Designing the Schematic & PCB in KiCAD

    Sanjit Sarda • 09/17/2024 at 16:23 • 0 comments

    Schematic

    Since my goal was to design a candy cane PCB, I figured that my battery choices were limited to super tiny coin cells or cylindrical batteries. I used 2 AAA cells to get 3V and have it last longer. I found SMD(0603) LEDs and Resistors on Digikey, after using an LED calculator. While choosing a switch, I wanted to use a Pushbutton. I found one with an On-On Function(When you press it, it stays in the on position until pressed again). So you don't need a latch.

    PCB

    Designing the Edge Cut was not hard, since Candy Cane can be broken into 3 straight lines and 3 semi-circles, which are easy to draw in KiCAD. After that, I filled the board with a ground and power pour, and the only other layout needed was to route the battery to the pushbutton.

    Fun stuff