Posts tagged ‘PCB’

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A Better STM32F0 Prototyping Experience

This project started when I was particularly annoyed by existing development board options and cheap Chinese PCB prototyping services were starting to emerge. Thus, the path forward was clear, but let’s start with the problems I was trying to solve. When I’m talking about ‘development boards’, I mean boards like the Teensy models, Feather variants or blue pill: a PCB based laid out around a microcontroller containing very little extra circuitry; a ‘least common denominator’ of typical projects using that MCU, if you will. Read more →

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A short reflection on direct laser PCB printing

I have been using a Lexmark E360d laser printer modified for depositing toner as an etch resist directly to PCB material for a while now. Details about the build have already been available on the project’s git repository, and this I’d like to focus on some comments on the actual usefulness of the project. PCB manufacture has been decreasing in its price, so I rarely use the ‘haxmark’ any more. It gets reactivated when I need a board fast and then it still does a decent job. Read more →

PCB Etching Thermostat

A small thermostat I built for a sodium persulfate PCB etching bath, controlling a heater originally intended for fish tanks (with the original temperature control removed). The temperature is fixed to 45–50 °C and power is provided for a small air pump. Schematics can be found here, PCB design files and MCU firmware here.