Lutetium-
Everything PCB with OSH Park Hack Chat Transcript: Part 3
03/02/2018 at 21:17 • 0 comments![]()
scripts don't mind being yelled at by the guys at the fab![]()
> Does OSHPark support (or are they planning to support) chamfering to make edge connectors?Nope. Turns out our fabs kinda hate doing bevel edges. Because of how the fab processes steps, it also adds a bunch to the panel fab setup costs, so the whole panel cost goes up.
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On that topic, though, it would be nice to be able to signal to the penalization code "no tab" spots.![]()
@r miloh alexander asks: can you tell us what sw does OSH park use internally to panelize? How automated is the panelization process? Do you tabs (or mousebite) these batch panel orders or does the fab do this procedure?![]()
It's also a super rare feauture. For production boards it's handy, but production card edges should also have hard gold (which we don't do_![]()
@Kevin You're thinking of Castellated Edges (http://docs.oshpark.com/tips+tricks/castellation/)![]()
It kinda sucks sometimes when there's a tab *right* under an edge mounted component.![]()
@oshpark Important question, any plans on sending more jelly beans out with boards?the most important question
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@Nick Sayer sandpaper is your friend. Or a good file.![]()
erp i meant to write "do you tab (or mousebite) the batch panel orders..."![]()
Jelly beans? I never got any jelly beans.![]()
@samy kamkar that was a treat during the winter holiday season... we'll be having more stickers though![]()
@samy kamkar asks what we've all really been here to find out![]()
awe![]()
> On that topic, though, it would be nice to be able to signal to the penalization code "no tab" spots.Working on this! Processing outlines is somewhat automated: Specifically, our fab does it with a human and some really fancy software on their end that inserts tabs.
My current project is actually doing fully-automated outline detection, mill path routing, and tab placement. I have some prototypes working, but the runtime complexity for bad cases is awful. So, porting it to something faster.
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@Ted Yapo Oh, sure, there's workarounds, but it's annoying.![]()
wait, are we talking about pogs?![]()
One of the things we plan when this is live is adding the ability to designate no tab zones on an upload.no tab zones++
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YAAAAY!![]()
@Benchoff yes! we are working on new designs right now :)![]()
> @oshpark Important question, any plans on sending more jelly beans out with boards?Maybe! We like keeping it kinda seasonal and special.
> wait, are we talking about pogs?
Clearly.
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@Dan Sheadel sounds peachy to have DNP tab zones...![]()
With just a few minutes left I want to throw in this statement from @Nick Sayer so the people from OSH Park don't miss it: Not so much a question as a comment: OSHPark is 90% (10% goes to EAGLE) responsible for returning me to a hobby that I abandoned over 30 years ago when I was a teenager. Everything I've designed since then has been entirely because the barriers to getting professionally made PCBs at a reasonable timeframe and budget have gone away.![]()
<3!![]()
:)![]()
aww![]()
well said![]()
Absolutely true. I was building Heathkits in the 80s, but I tried to make my own PCB at home once and it was a disaster. I gave up for 30+ years.![]()
That is wonderful to here @Nick Sayer We love your projects!![]()
(well well, look what just showed up in the mail....)![]()
Thanks, guys! My work looks best in Purple and Gold.![]()
And they do look stellar. :D![]()
https://twitter.com/pdp7/status/753397573256294401
Drew Fustini on Twitter
OSH Park edition of @nwsayer's Crazy Clock https://t.co/S03Lwrj4HP
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Special edition of Nick's crazy clock :)![]()
Nice.![]()
And with that let's give a HUGE thank you to @Dan Sheadel and Drew @oshpark for coming on this chat today to talk to us all about your perfect purple PCBS!![]()
Indeed!![]()
Also @oshpark thanks for adding affordable fast shipping to Canada!!![]()
Thank you all!![]()
Thank you guys![]()
oh yes!![]()
Oh yeah! We're stoked to have Fedex now.![]()
we have FedEx now![]()
Thanks @Dan Sheadel and @oshpark !![]()
Yes. Thank you @Dan Sheadel and @oshpark !![]()
I've never made my own PCBs. I didn't want to deal with all those chemicals. I would just use build using perfboards with or without copper on one side. Because of OSHPark I've got some of my newer projects build with real PCBs.![]()
Thanks Dew & Dan![]()
https://docs.oshpark.com/submitting-orders/shipping-information/
OSH Park Docs ~ Submitting Orders ~ Shipping Information and Turnaround Times
For items purchased at different times (and with different order numbers), we cannot guarantee combined shipping. However, our system will automatically try to combine them into the fastest selected parcel type, as long as they're shipped at the same time.
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Thanks Dan & Drew!![]()
Thank you so much both of you! Great chat!![]()
@Kevin At the time, for me, it was the drill hits. I had a drill press, but I couldn't get anything like the correct spacing for DIP.![]()
@morgan we love the new project you are working. we are junkie for PCB artwork![]()
Yep, thank you! It's always great to find out what's happening in OSHpark world![]()
thanks @Stephen and crew!I don't like using any courier companies for cross-border shipping in to Canada. They often want too much money for customs clearance and brokerage fees.
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Thanks everybody! As always, feel free to shoot us questions on Twitter, Facebook, or on Hackaday here. Drew's always lurking hunting for purple. :)![]()
Thanks, oshpark!![]()
And, of course, there was no way I was going to get a double-sided design to line up. And no through-plated vias... and on and on. Stuff we now take totally for granted.![]()
@oshpark everyone at work is completely blown away, especially with few knowing what a PCB even is![]()
OUr new Fedex International Priority is:~$15 to North America
~$20 to Australia
~$20-$35 to Europe and Asia
~$25 to Latin America
~$40 to Africa
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@Nick Sayer Drilling holes would have been another stumbling block for me. I didn't have access to a drill press.![]()
And in general, we are always happy to answer questions via our support email: support@oshpark.com![]()
I decided write-up be damned, here's the #Lampster which woudn't have been possible without a lot of back and forth with OSHParklike In-N-Out Burger, we do have bit of a secret menu beyond had you see in the cart checkout options
thanks @morgan! https://hackaday.io/project/27788-lampster is a wonderful design
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Everything PCB with OSH Park Hack Chat Transcript: Part 2
03/02/2018 at 21:13 • 0 comments![]()
I wish I had a really good use-case for flex. All I can think of is just making FFCs, but you can just buy those from DigiKey. :/![]()
One of the issues with flex is that there's fewer fabs to do it in the US, and 2 of the fabs we've talked to said "Yeah, we do flex fabs and we're also in the us", but they just exported the job to a chinese fab. One literally just sent us the box _from_ the chinese fab directly. >_>@Thomas Shaddack Voxel8 did that until they realized no one wanted to buy their printer
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That's harsh.> do you see any pcb artists using halftoning?
Here is a wonderful example https://plus.google.com/photos/100779964808096572793/album/6333017586389944753/6333018254399231794
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I agree Nick. You can do a lot with origami folding.![]()
The second fab we placed an order, then actually remembered to check "These are fabbed literally in a spot IN THE US, right?" and the answer was no." At least that time we were able to cancel the order.![]()
@Dan Sheadel thats a common problemt these days I'veheard from multiple people in industry![]()
The current fab IS ACTUALLY a US fab, as we hoped and expected. But some delays came up regarding our panelization, requirements, and we had to do some adjustments. The final panel for this is delayed, but still en route! Hopefuly we have news soon.![]()
some US fabs just out source and say they do it here![]()
what's the trick to drill holes in the PCBs without having burrs on the edges?![]()
Here is a link with Flex Beta Service Info + FAQhttp://docs.oshpark.com/services/flex/
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lternative solder mask colours? ---> try this code #ff8040![]()
> I wish I had a really good use-case for flex. All I can think of is just making FFCs, but you can just buy those from DigiKey. :/We've seen some really good stuff so far. Once this is affordable, I think the ideas will come popping out the woodwork.
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Hah, wow I cen't believe they just shipped you the box straight from China!![]()
While we're on the topic of flexible PCBS, Robert Marosi asks: What's the most interesting flex-PCB application you've encountered so far?![]()
Dan has written some good documenatation about Castellated Edges here: http://docs.oshpark.com/tips+tricks/castellation/![]()
This was a fun flex test that Trammell Hudson designed https://twitter.com/qrs/status/929513598203830272![]()
We've seen some cool ones!- 90* angle bends for neopixels and lighting strips,
- Someone is using a couple sheets as a pressure sensor for botton of shoes
- Connectors, obviously
- Glue on fingernail lights
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We had the good fortunate to be able to deliver the test flex boards in person to people at Supercon![]()
Is it possible to solder BGA packages and small passives on flex-PCBs![]()
I made a pebble watchband (RIP) for breaking out the signals into a dev kit.![]()
@Andrew Sowa used the flex to make letter shapes for a sign http://andrewsowa.com/projects/#/3h-chicago-hardware-meetup/![]()
@Dan Sheadel love that idea abotu the watchband![]()
Catalan solid flex PCB prototype is a good idea you can build many shapes and used as kit![]()
> Is it possible to solder BGA packages and small passives on flex-PCBsSolder, yeah. Will they stay there? NO IDEA. One of the things we'll be doing is some in-house destructive testing to figure out these edge cases.
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thought. flex for electrodes and other medical electronics that conform to the body surface?![]()
Will OSH Park sell PCB assembly services at some point? This is another question from @Robert Marosi![]()
@Thomas Shaddack I wanna say tons of medical devices have that kind of construction![]()
We see a lot of flex guides for basic mechanical stuff.... but not what our customers are gonna do to it. So we'll be keeping an eye on this, and trying to pester the community for how much luck they get with some of this stuff.![]()
yes you can solder BGA packages on a flix but it should be fixed to something rigid![]()
I think i have to switch my photo with a photo of my scope...Dan Sheadel says:
We WERE planning to have a rigid back on the flex pcbs, but one of the delays came from that we can't do that. So, we're looking at a Plan B to get people little flex bits.
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would it work to put a blob of epoxy over the bga, to provide the rigidity around the part?![]()
One of the current ideas we have is using a laser cutter to ship a small sheet of custom-shaped stickon backs that you can use to put the pcb stiffener on yourself.![]()
that could work nicely. could also work for heatsinks.![]()
these are the flex PCBs to connect "neopixel" RGB LEDs at different angles https://twitter.com/JunesPhD/status/955565312308588544![]()
Butterfly boards! <3![]()
@Thomas Shaddack I've seen BGAs expoxied on the corners in a couple macbook pros I disassembled![]()
the finished arrangement https://twitter.com/JunesPhD/status/935668642477432833![]()
OK, should probably move to the next question, but keep pestering us about flex if you have questions. :)![]()
indeed![]()
Next Question: Will OSH Park sell PCB assembly services at some point? This is another question from @Robert Marosi![]()
are you guys still taking test designs from people ?> Will OSH Park sell PCB assembly services at some point? This is another question from @Robert Marosi
Maybe! If we do, we'll probably do "jellybean" parts at a low cost. We _probably_ won't ever offer a full turnkey solution though. It's not off the table, but it's a _ton_ of work that's somewhat out of the focus of our normal operations.
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We also recognize that just getting a consistent BOM is gonna be a hassle. We're not gonna launch a service that's not somewhat on par with the ease of workflow process we pride ourselves on. And doing that for PCB assembly is gonna be tough.![]()
yeah it would be really hard to also become MacroFab on top of being OSHpark** late question about flex: where can i find technical mechanical specs, like minimum bend radii, ampacity, flex characteristics, etc?
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I really liked the self-serve PCBA that MacroFab and PCB:NG have![]()
Any plans to offer stencils?![]()
They offer stencils laready![]()
no they don't![]()
OSH Stencils
The Proto PCB Stencil Maker home of the Kapton Polyimide and Stainless Steel laser cut solder paste stencils for prototype and batch pcb runs. The source for cheap pcb solder stencils and foils. Serving the maker community since 2013, focusing on SMT and SMD based stencils for solder paste electronic circuits and electronic design applications.
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they do![]()
Oshstencils is a different company.![]()
thats not oshpark![]()
@Carrie Sundra and @Jac Goudsmit are wondering about "mouse teeth" on boards. Jac notices their medium run orders didn't have mouse teeth, and Carrie wants to do some small runs without mouse teeth. What ccreates the mouse teeth in your boards and how can they be avoided @Dan Sheadel ?![]()
my bad thought they were the same![]()
Yeah. Doing full turnkey also is a space with a lot of options that exist. We'd rather put that energy into a spot that's more helpful to the electronics community.![]()
Mouse teeth? Same as "rat bites?"![]()
I think so![]()
fyi - OSH Stencils is a wonderful company in Utah![]()
Back to flex real quick:- No, not doing test boards. We hopefully are done with tests, and if things work out, we'll be just launching the service. If not, we'll probably use the boards we have for in-house testing.
- No stackup is official yet, but http://docs.oshpark.com/services/flex/ has our targets (although it's not updated to reflect the reality that we won't have stiffener)
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@darryln please check out http://docs.oshpark.com/services/flex/![]()
@oshpark do they get your seal of approval?![]()
@oshpark thanks![]()
great interview with OSH Stencils for those interested https://theamphour.com/320-an-interview-with-brent-of-oshstencils/> @Carrie Sundra and @Jac Goudsmit are wondering about "mouse teeth" on boards. Jac notices their medium run orders didn't have mouse teeth, and Carrie wants to do some small runs without mouse teeth. What ccreates the mouse teeth in your boards and how can they be avoided @Dan Sheadel ?
This is helpful to understand those. https://twitter.com/oshpark/status/774837370587795456
The mousebites are used mechanically to keep a panel together.
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@Adam Vadala-Roth We are big fans of osh stencils, and I love their metal stencils -Drew![]()
OSH stencils is great and all but I would much prefer to single source pcbs/stencils![]()
For our smaller panels, the biggest cost driver is up-front cost of panel setup. So, getting more designs on the panel is a huge advantage, and is what keeps the prices low. So, we use the little tabs to hold them together.![]()
So why were there no mouse bites on my last 2 medium run orders? Aren't they panelized?![]()
We can fully mill out PCBs when it is a medium run order: http://docs.oshpark.com/services/two-layer-medium-run/![]()
it requires over 100 sq inches, please contact support@oshpark.com for more info![]()
For our medium run, the up-front cost is amortized across more panels. So, we can get the individual orders "fully routed". For this process, the boards are basically sticky-tacked to panel and then milled. It's a bit more time consuming and costly, but it works out for this type of production.![]()
Excellent! I get that the hold the board in the panel, just wasn’t sure which routing you didn’t and which the pcb manufacturer did. Good to know medium runs are a possibility.![]()
*stickytacked to a scrap board, exactly.@Audi McAvoy asks:
Does oshpark support ODB++? If so, is that preferred over Gerber?
How automated is the Gerber submission process? I didn't have a board outline layer, and it was kicked back pretty quick.
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So, because we're doing the full routing process, we _can_ do full routing on individual boards. It's less space efficient though, so we typically do small subpanels of each design, and then fully route the outsides of those (so the customer gets the panel). This works out really well for us, for customer's ease of assembly, and shipping.![]()
@Stephen I wanna know too, we do ODB++ at work for all boards![]()
Cool! Well folks, I guess that means if you get one of my kits with mousebites, it'll be a "L@@K R@RE STEVE JOBS EARLY VERSION" (I should charge extra haha)![]()
Got it. Thanks!> Does oshpark support ODB++? If so, is that preferred over Gerber?
Nope. OBD++ is a proprietary format, and we're not willing to fork over to get a licence. X2 is free! As is using the default naming pattern of the tool, and we'll pick that up.
The big advantage for OBD is custom stackups (which we don't really do) and component stuff.
> How automated is the Gerber submission process? I didn't have a board outline layer, and it was kicked back pretty quick.
![]()
hm... I thought mousebites was the term for the half circle through hold pads on the edge of circuit boards.![]()
> How automated is the Gerber submission process? I didn't have a board outline layer, and it was kicked back pretty quick.100% . We can send your order to fabrication without human intervention.
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We _do_, however, look over a panel for anything that looks super weird. As a dev, nearly 100% of my time is managing the zillions of edge cases caused by tools doing things no one in their right mind would expect.Like text on a copper layer, off the edge of a board?
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Any dirty details about upcoming OshPark hex sticker releases/designs?![]()
Jac Goudsmit asks:Does OSHPark support (or are they planning to support) chamfering to make edge connectors?
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If we wanted, we could actually set Oshpark to full-automated mode, where orders are- Checked and processed
- Panelized
- Sent to the appropriate fab
- Received
without a human. However, we'd have to obviously have a person ship things.... and we do like to check stuff.
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That's impressive!Dan, if you fully automated the process only the shipper would get to see the those lovely art based PCBs that come through now and then.
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Everything PCB with OSH Park Hack Chat Transcript: Part 1
03/02/2018 at 20:34 • 0 commentsOkay, let's get this PCB party started!
Add your questions in the discussion here and I'll ask them throughout the chat: https://hackaday.io/event/63030-everything-pcb-with-osh-park-hack-chat
A big welcome to @Dan Sheadel and Drew @oshpark ! Why don't we start off with both of you telling us a little bit about yourself?
![]()
(for reference, here's why we can't be trusted to label things)![]()
@Thomas Shaddack That's fair. They're just not-so-awesome when they escape their containment.![]()
usually, i label my PCB using the copper in the design![]()
HAH @Dan SheadelHi, this is Drew Fustini from OSH Park. Here is a list I'm working on of PCB projects with awesome artwork:
http://blog.oshpark.com/2018/03/02/pcb-projects-with-awesome-artwork/
oshpark says:
I'm always amazed by the creative ways that people are able to use fiberglass, copper, silkscreen and soldermask :)![]()
Silkscreen is not reallt needed![]()
Anyway, on point! Hi! I'm Dan! I'm a mash of Support and dev, mostly working on the backend but also managing front end updates and fixes.![]()
Fan of board art, tiny useless robots, and an FRC mentor, hence they byline on the hackaday blog. :)Stephen says:
That's awesome, so glad to have you two on the chat. Let's start this Q&A with the basics before ramping up. Julius (Mr. Seeker) asks:If you want to start PCB design, what software would you guys recommend, besides Eagle?
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I am an Open Source Hardware designer here at OSH Park and am also a member of the BeagleBoard.org Foundation board of directors. I can often be found at hardware meetups wearing purple :)![]()
-Drew Fustini![]()
SO MUCH PURPLE![]()
Always :DTotes! Kicad and Eagle are the ones we're fans of. As far as hobby work goes, I think they're the most well rounded and usable.
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I've used Designspark too, tho it has its downsides![]()
Within OSH Park, we are split about 50/50 between EAGLE and KiCad. I (Drew) use KiCad for my projects while Dan usually uses EAGLE. Both are very popular tools with our customers![]()
from RS componentsi prefer KiCad
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How can someone get into industry software like Altium or OrCad without paying so much?![]()
I promise to keep mostly quiet, but one advice for beginners is to try both and then figure out which one you like the best. After you are down the road, you'll build up libraries of parts and footprints that will make you very *sticky* to the tool - changing will be a hassle you won't want to do.![]()
Hello everyone, sorry for the late join :-(![]()
For anyone interested in learning KiCad, we recommend this tutorial: https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/getting-to-blinky/![]()
We've heard DipTrace and Designspark are both pretty usable. Haven't used them. If you have a school or university, you can try Altium or ORCAD a lot of time.![]()
I used both Kicad and EagleHow can someone get into industry software like Altium or OrCad without paying so much?
![]()
I promise to keep mostly quiet, but one advice for beginners is to try both and then figure out which one you like the best. After you are down the road, you'll build up libraries of parts and footprints that will make you very *sticky* to the tool - changing will be a hassle you won't want to do.![]()
For anyone interested in learning KiCad, we recommend this tutorial: https://contextualelectronics.com/courses/getting-to-blinky/![]()
We've heard DipTrace and Designspark are both pretty usable. Haven't used them. If you have a school or university, you can try Altium or ORCAD a lot of time.![]()
I used both Kicad and Eagle![]()
Mostly, the best advice is that A) PCB tools are all awful. Hands down.
B) Find the one you spend the least time fighting with,
C ) Get used to one that won't bottleneck you for the forseeable future.
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It's an endless debate for sure. Next question is from me!When making PCB art, which parts of the design are better to do in your CAD suite and which designs are best to be imported from another softare?
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What is Oshpark (me googling)![]()
@Andrew Sowa has been having great success doing PCB in KiCad: https://blog.oshpark.com/2017/03/30/creating-the-benchoff-nickel/
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I tried Mentor once, couldn't even get started since i couldn't find documentation anywhere![]()
i'm here to mention pcb-rnd for *nux users and fans of the unix philosophy, it has a lot going for it. http://repo.hu/projects/pcb-rnd/![]()
Personally, I do _all_ my PCB art in Eagle.![]()
@Nick Sayer Totally agree. I have hundreds of custom footprints in eagle I would hate to have to move to another tool.![]()
PCBmodE? http://pcbmode.com/ from BoldportIf you're used to things like Inkscape that can generate SVGs, you can get _really_ good art with litlte hassle for most tools.
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Often I will do my artwork in a photo editing program (GIMP) and then import as a bitmap (into KiCad).![]()
@Jon Raymond KiCad can readily read Eagle footprints.![]()
If you have to rasterize it (bitmaps) you'll run into problems with DPI, post processing, sizes, etc. It can be a mess. Some tools do better than others here.People often find success doing vector graphics and importing a SVG or DXF
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Ooh. I use Omnigraffle to make SVGs for laser-cutting designs. I haven't considered attempting to import SVGs into - say - the outline layer in EAGLE.....![]()
Eagle does SVG import REALLY well. Way better than it does bitmaps (bleh).![]()
@Benchoff has some good notes here https://hackaday.io/project/18508-mr-robot-badge/log/53901-this-is-how-you-do-art-in-kicad![]()
@Taylor Street nice, I've tried to do the Kicad thing several times, I get frustrated and go back to Eagle every time.![]()
I will have to deeply ponder that....Haha, that's how I feel about Eagle!
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^ take beziers, add anchor points, simplify, straight lines only.![]()
facelesstech also has some good tips http://blog.oshpark.com/2017/01/08/convert-inkscape-svg-drawings-to-kicad-footprints/![]()
Keep in mind if you export a Polygon, a lot of import tools can keep that! So if you're doing SVG art, it should import as an appropriate filled zone/polygon.![]()
i'm self taught. i'd like to improve my PCB layout skills especially when it comes to minimizing signal noise. do you have an recommendations for learning material?![]()
looks like I'm here to catch this one![]()
what up people![]()
isn't eagle now on a licence you have to pay / year for?![]()
Uri Shaked also documents his process that he used for heart PCB:http://blog.oshpark.com/2017/03/28/heart-shaped-flashlight-pcb/
![]()
A Practical Guide to Designing PCB Art![]()
A Practical Guide to Designing PCB Art - Uri Shaked - Medium
Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are literally all around us: nearly every consumer electronic good contains a PCB, and more and more we see people designing their own to use in their DIY electronics projects - I've certainly designed a few myself for all kinds of funky projects!
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> isn't eagle now on a licence you have to pay / year for?For the paid versions. The free versions are still, helpfully, free.
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If you want to learn how to mitigate noise in PCBs there are tons of white papers on the subject by most semiconductor manufactures![]()
@anfractuosity Yes - but there's a good argument as to why that's better, but it's off-topic here. Contact me offline if you want to hear it.![]()
a little googling and you'll find plenty![]()
If it helps justify it, AutoDesk is ACTUALLY updating it with a lot of significant changes. They're a rare case where a subscription is actually somewhat justifiable, although there's still lots of debate here.given that professional software tools receive a lot of updates every year
![]()
and you work with a bunch of outside companies![]()
it makes sense to subscribe and be at the latest![]()
instead of bying a new copy fo a lump sum yearly![]()
@happyday.mjohnson if you have a specific circuit in mind, datasheets and app notes are your friend!![]()
These are good thoughts and resources around PCB art! Lets remember to keep some of the questions and commenting in the discussion on this page, and give Dan and Drew the stage to share. https://hackaday.io/event/63030-everything-pcb-with-osh-park-hack-chat![]()
Those are some awesome art based PCBs that were pointed to earlier. :)again for those that missed it. here is a list of some projects with awesome PCB art:
http://blog.oshpark.com/2018/03/02/pcb-projects-with-awesome-artwork/
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Heh. To round off the original question, > When making PCB art, which parts of the design are better to do in your CAD suite and which designs are best to be imported from another softare?
As a guideline, probably keep the electrical stuff in the design. Do what you can do easily in the tool, and do external tools and imports for the hard stuff.
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Next question for you @Dan Sheadel and @oshpark. This one is from x: What do you think of PCBmodE any other interesting design centric PCB tools?![]()
I believe in the future @Andrew Sowa will be doing a hackchat about pcb artwork so he can talk more about his process. He love what did with this full panel sign for us! https://www.instagram.com/p/BcGrEupBJQi/
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I actually tried PCBMode, and was SUPER excited about it originally. Sadly, it really didn't fit the bill of being an "art focused pcb tool", and was more aof a "pcb focused art tool". S, the PCB side really suffered with the workflow. The art side was also super rough.![]()
He has a great process for converting photos into PCB http://andrewsowa.com/blog/2017/12/18/pay-what-you-want-pcb-art![]()
I REALLY wish that rather than making _new_ tools, what happens is that existing open tools get upgrades to allow art creation more easily. Kicad in particular.![]()
The Boldport designs really show off the power of PCBmodEtotally a ton of potential for KiCAD to get plugins like that
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Unfortunately, I don't have much direct experience with the tool but Saar's work is very impressive![]()
In my opinion, the best PCB art is a functional board that has a lot of artistic touches, rather than just art.![]()
> totally a ton of potential for KiCAD to get plugins like thatInteresting idea!
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@Dan Sheadel agreed lets get more features in KiCad, and Boldport is epic for inspirational art in PCB form factor![]()
I third that sentiment![]()
regarding other software, @Blake Ramsdell has created software for doing PCB paints![]()
https://hackaday.io/page/3353-full-panel-pcb-painting-fabricatedFull Panel PCB Painting -- Fabricated! * Blake Ramsdell * Hackaday.io
Happy to consider commissions and suggestions for future pieces. If it can be represented as a bitmap, it can be rendered as a PCB Painting! Please comment below with your thoughts.
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@oshpark reason I say that, is because in my professional opinion KiCAD is very powerful, I hold it in the same regard as Altium Designer. And given that it has a framework for adding features its just a matter of time![]()
hi drew!do you see any pcb artists using halftoning? with a limited palette it sounds like a good direction to head in.
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i used https://github.com/mtl/svg2mod a while ago with kicad iirc for simpleish stuff![]()
Alright, we have a ton of OSH Park specific questions, so let's move into those!![]()
checkout Blake's profile https://hackaday.io/bcr![]()
Jon Raymond asks:Any plans to offer alternative solder mask colours? Also, have flexible pcbs been deemed a viable option?
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and PCB paintings group for more info https://www.facebook.com/pcbpaintings/![]()
yeah FlexPCBs are really hot right now![]()
I know EvilMadScience did some sort of half-toning style boards a while back, but I'm pretty sure it's actually a slight different algorithm.EvilMadScience used some kind of error diffusion as well in their half-toning technique
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> Any plans to offer alternative solder mask colours? It's possible. We're getting to the point where we can do a new color on a 3 week turn time (probably). We'd need to figure out a color though, and run some tests to make sure it's pretty enough.
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ah yes, i believe that EHSM workflow was inkscape > pstoedit > geda/pcb![]()
> Also, have flexible pcbs been deemed a viable option?HOOO BOY. So far, yes, but it's been an adventure
random thought. what about making PCBs by direct deposition of conductive inks on an arbitrary substrate?
Dan Sheadel says:
We've been working on our test panels for _6 months_. W
Everything PCB with OSH Park Hack Chat
Dan and Drew from OSH Park will be talking about everything PCB, from artwork to 2 layer flexible PCB testing and beyond.
