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PCB Design
These projects were completed individually for my electronics and controls class. We designed two different PCB's - one power supply (shown above) with 12 V, 5 V, and 3.3 V outputs, and one H-bridge motor controller to change the direction of a motor. Both were made in KiCad, and when we completed our design we ordered them to be shipped from OSH Park to have the parts soldered on and used in future projects (such as the tank and electromechanical game).
To the left is my H-Bridge motor controller. The purpose is to be able to change the direction of a motor. The motor plugs into a screw terminal (labeled motor), and the motor can be powered either through a barrel jack or through the pin connectors on the right of the board. Additionally, the board receives power to its 3.3 V pin terminals. These can be powered from our power supply PCB, or by connecting to a microcontroller pin that is set high. When one pin is set high, the motor spins one direction, and when the other pin is set high, the motor spins the other direction. The remaining two pins are ground.
To the right is the wiring for my H-Bridge. Blue wires are on one side of the board, and red are on the other, which means that blue and red wires can cross the same path without shorting.
Note that the pieces on the board have gray names (such as 2N3904). These indicate the part numbers of the piece, and inputting them into KiCad ensures that the component will fit correctly into the board. There are also yellow names. Unlike the gray names, these appear on the printed board, and indicate where components go without needing to examine the wiring.
The traces that connect to the motor and all ground traces are thicker than others. This allows them to handle greater amounts of power without melting.
This is the schematic for my motor controller. The schematic is completed before the wiring. It is easier to interpret and can be imported into the PCB editor. This is helpful because although the wires still need to be drawn, the program will indicate what needs to be connected. The schematic is easier to interpret because it can take up a lot of space. A smaller PCB is cheaper, so once the PCB design begins, things are squished to conserve space, but this often makes the wiring harder to follow.
Below are the printed boards with all of their components soldered on.
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