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1Order the custom circuit board & parts
The gerber file attached to the project can be submitted to get circuit boards made. I used PCBWay, it's really easy to do. I kept all the settings except for the board and silkscreen color as the defaults.
The electronics BOM should pretty easy to get. I included links for the parts I used in the parts section.
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2Make the body
- You can 3D print everything
- All the parts come as one file. PrusaSlicer has a break into objects button to separate the parts out. I suggest using contrasting colors for the plates and the thicker body parts
- 3D print the thicker sections and laser cut the plates
- Break apart the 3D print and delete the four plates. Print the remaining 3 body sections.
- Use the SVG for the laser cutting. I used acrylic from Cohn which had a matte surface and a glossy surface. If you want the surfaces to match, you need to mirror the bottom panel (it's directional because of the power switch).
- Mill the thicker sections
- This is my ultimate goal, I will post details on this process once I test it myself.
- You can 3D print everything
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3Mill/3D Print Mill the Wood Layers
All the parts come as one file. Prusa slicer has a break into objects button to separate the parts out. If you're laser cutting the acrylic layers, you can delete them.
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4Solder the Custom Circuit Board.
Submit the gerberfil
- Start with the 2 @ 10k Resistors on the front
- If your feather doesn't have headers, solder them on next. Adafruit suggests using a breadboard to keep them aligned when soldering them
- Next the feather headers on the back. If your using short headers, don't push the feather all the way down or you will end up soldering the feather in. Once it's in, you can pop out the feather
- Add the four pin header for the buck converter (also on the back)
- Add the encoder to the front of the board. it was helpful to put the knob on the encoder to help it balance while soldering
- Now the displays. This was the trickiest part. Remember the displays are extra sensitive to static. Here is my method:
- Run some masking tape over the holes for HPDL displays on the back of the board
- Flip the board back drop in the displays. The pins should just reach the back of the board.
- I soldered them in place from the top
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5Solder the power switch into the battery wire extension
I cut the red wire and soldered the power switch in the middle.
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6Get the feather setup
Start with the feather not connected to the circuit board
- Follow Adafruit's great directions for getting the feather setup and working with Arduino IDE here: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-feather-v2/arduino-ide-setup .
- Plug the battery extension wire into the batter and the feather so the battery can charge while you get the code uploaded.
- Use the library manager to install the following libraries:
- HPDL1414 by Marek Ledworoski (marecl)
- TLV493D-A1B6 by Infineon Technologies
- RotaryEncoder by Matthias Hertel
- Download the swirlDice INO file from this project and open it in Arduino IDE, then upload it to your feather
- Leave the battery charging while you go on to the next step
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7Magnet/magnetometer assembly for testing
- Take the plate with the rectangle in the middle. Use the 4 @ M2x6mm screws through the bottom of the plate and then secure the sensor with the M2 nuts.
- Run the M3 screws through the bottom wood section
- Add the magnet to the cavity
- Slide the magnetometer plate down so it's in place over the magnet.
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8Electronics Testing
- Turn off the battery switch and unplug the USB cable from the feather.
- Connect the the STEMMA QT wire to connect the sensor to the feather.
- Plug the Feather into the circuit board
- You can now use the power switch and test everything.
- The display should light and respond to the encoder
- The encoder will respond to right and left rotations and clicks
- Swirling the magnet should make a roll appear on the screen
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9Final Assembly
Pull the M3 screws out and build your stack from the top to the bottom
- Top acrylic plate
- Circuit Board - make sure the display and encoder fit well.
- Upper wooden block - check for fit between the circuit board and the wooden supports
- Batter Acrylic plate - zip tie the battery to the plate
- Middle Wooden Block
- Magnetometer Acrylic Plate - Run the batter wire and switch through the square cut out to the bottom wooden block
- Bottom wooden block- screw the power switch in with the wood screws
- Bottom Acrylic plate
- Add the four acorn nuts
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