Formica PCBs
Jeff Gough
Just to update you on the status: we've had some prototype PCBs made,
and have populated and tested one. With some rudimentary test code it
can drive (not navigate) into the charging bay and charge up. The IR
comms and food detection are working to some extent.
Several PCB modifications are required, so we're about to place another
order. The mass production festival is scheduled for this Saturday,
probably spilling over into Sunday. We could do with some more hands, so
if your offer still stands and you're free at the weekend, please come
over for a bit of soldering! Depending on our mood the numbers oscillate
quite a bit, but the current target is probably 25 boards, although we
may order components for more than that.
We've just reached another one of those annoyance/price trade-offs. If
we send off our design by 9am tomorrow we can get 25 bare, silver plated
boards for around £75 and ones with soldermask and silkscreen for around
£265. These prices exclude vat and delivery. Assembling boards with
soldermask is much more pleasant - solder or solderpaste may be applied
in a faster, more haphazard manner with neater results and fewer errors
and shorts. The silkscreen is a text label by each component which makes
placement faster and reduces errors in component value and orientation.
Soldermask and silkscreen will definitely reduce testing and fixing
time, but it should be noted that we've never assembled such a large
number of reasonably complex boards, so their impact is difficult to
judge. Is it worth the extra £190? I'm not sure.
We can currently only afford the bare board service, so I'm writing to
ask if you have some spare budget you could send our way. I believe Rob
has the precise budget numbers, but I'd estimate that we need about
another £170 to go for the soldermask and silkscreen on 25 robots.
Cheers,
Jeff
Klaus-Peter Zauner
Dear Jeff,
Given that this is SMD the solder mask would be good to have
for such a poduction run.
I am happy to cover the 190.- with my funds. What is the mechanism?
Do you charge it all to Lex's account and we subsequently transfer
money to him?
> The mass production festival is scheduled for this Saturday,
> probably spilling over into Sunday.
>
Yes, the offer still stands. Let me know when and where.
By the way I have submitted an abstract for ALife before the
deadline (see attached)---have not yet heard about whether it
is accepted.
Best regards,
Klaus-Peter
......................................................................
Klaus-Peter Zauner Tel. +44(0)23-8059-3089 Bld. 16, Rm. 1057
Electronics & Computer Science, University of Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Jeff Gough
various expenses are going on our personal bank accounts and we're
keeping receipts. Expect it'll be a complete nightmare to sort out at
the end, but we simply don't have time for the paperwork at the moment!
Quoting Eric Cooke "I suggest that the students get an order together
and we will ask Shaun Ford to buy the stuff against the Lab budget. At
some point we can arrange an internal transfer from the UCAS budget to
the Lab budget if necessary.". So I guess at the end of it all we
present a pile of receipts and an apologetic smile to Shaun Ford.
Just phoned the order in, will be with us Saturday morning. We live at
20 Hartley Avenue, about a 45 second walk from Faraday. Start time will
depend on PCB arrival time, but I guess around lunchtime. More info to
follow. We should have plenty of soldering irons and reflow stations to
go around but feel free to bring any tools you like to use.
Jeff