Project Logs

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• Finally complete!

  Mark Aldritz Dela Virgen • 03/16/2020 at 03:21 • 0 comments

  After almost 2 months of not updating this Hackaday.io page, I am finally happy to announce that the 10AxisFeatherWing is complete!
  

  I was busy trying to perfect the boards, and my gosh did it take two months!

  During those 2 months, I have learned the following:

  1. Use stencils rather than hand soldering. Especially if you have tiny parts and if some of your components have no leads. I threw away $100 worth of failed boards trying to go cheap.
  2. Check your board design before ordering. I uploaded a board design I did not check, and I got a board that does not have a trace to ground on one of the pads. I did not let that $20 go into the drain, though. I used it to make a partial board that tested the unaffected components. Here's a photo of it:
     

     It worked!
     

  3. Have a heat gun. You cannot solder parts under components using a soldering iron, unless the pads themselves are visible.

  My university hackerspace provided the right tools to prepare, solder, and test my boards.
  

  Also, I will be scrapping the 10AxisFeatherWingLE variant. I had made 3 prototypes, used a stencil, and tested them. All three of them released the magic smoke.

  I am thinking of making more hardware, since I wanted a modular Thrust Vector Control system for rockets. Like what Joe Barnard does in BPS.space!

• I ordered the parts!

  Mark Aldritz Dela Virgen • 01/17/2020 at 22:08 • 0 comments

  Today is a good day for 10AxisFeatherWing (and LE)!

  After checking the PCBs for the 10AxisFeatherWing and 10AxisFeatherWingLE, I ordered the parts from DigiKey, and the PCBs from OSH Park. I am so excited to try these things myself!

  Also, I just found out that my school just had reflow ovens, so I look forward to making (or baking) these PCBs!

  Here are a few pictures of the PCB renders from OSH Park:

  Ain't those purple PCBs cute?

• Migration to KiCad

  Mark Aldritz Dela Virgen • 12/31/2019 at 23:42 • 2 comments

  I recreated the whole project using KiCad, because I feel like it's easier to use than EAGLE.

  Because of it, I was able to create 3D renders of 10AxisFeatherWing!
  
  

  Also, I recreated the 10AxisFeatherWingLE with much more cheaper parts. Instead of BME280, I used the BMP280, which does not have the humidity sensor.

  Here are some screenshots of the new, improved 10AxisFeatherWingLE:

  One last thing: Happy New Year!
  

• New Features! - Reset Switch and INT breakout

  Mark Aldritz Dela Virgen • 12/24/2019 at 14:03 • 0 comments

  After looking around for examples of FeatherWings in Adafruit store, I stumbled upon this Adalogger FeatherWing. It has the two things that I know I needed to implement: A reset switch and an INT breakout.

  I also tried to condense all the components together, since I was worried that the decoupling caps won't filter the signals effectively. After some few hours of rearranging the components and autorouting, I was able to implement these new features.

  Right now, my project is done on paper. I just need to find a good PCB printing service to print prototype PCBs for me, and collect money from my allowance so I will be able to buy the required components. I might use these prototype PCBs in my rockets, and use the data in my super secret science project I'm working on.

• 10AxisFeatherWingLE

  Mark Aldritz Dela Virgen • 12/22/2019 at 16:53 • 0 comments

  I have made a 10AxisFeatherWingLE that uses LSM9DS1 instead of BNO055. The LE (Limited Edition) does not have sensor fusion, but it does not require a 32.768kHz crystal, and is cheaper than the original.

  Visit the project page on Github

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