I have designed a long chain of Xadow modules by now, including right angled side chains. These include:
PCB Manufacture:
DirtyPCB - They use SeeedStudio for manufacture and fulfilment, but get bulk discounts and I love the Gerber preview option, no extra charge black PCB's and option to get extra PCB's in a batch. I have got gold finished PCB's from them as well these look rather good.
SeeedStudio - My first test PCB's were made here.They also provide an assembly service and a library of commonly used parts. In most cases I have managed to get 80% of the PCB assembled in China with 20% hand soldered at home, mainly crystals and main IC's.
OSHPark - This is the made in the USA solution to Hobbyist PCB's. They produce PCB's in a signature purple colour, which I guess is a soldermask colour no serious industrial PCB maker wants. The ENIG finish PCB's look rather good. The preview function is also handy. However the DRU for checking PCB's is a bit strict in terms of clearance at the board edges, vias are not automatically tented and signals require greater separation leading to a low density PCB overall.
I am yet to try PCBPool and local Australian and New Zealand options, but they are beyond the budget of hobbyists. Once I start manufacturing my designs I shall surely give them a go. Local hackerspace recommended #hackvana and I had a great chat with them as well.
Component Sourcing:
AliExpress - Components are a bit hit and miss, had the wrong ones sent at one point. All the ones tested work.
EBay - Probably same sellers as AliExpress. Similar performance, no bad shipments so far.
Element14 - Next day delivery is amazing for quick prototyping. The part search system has improved a lot and they even have an Eagle library for most of the common parts.
Samples from TI, Maxim and ON Semi - Nothing is as good as free stuff delivered express. All parts are detailed with CAD models (albeit in .bxl).
Stencil:
OSHStencil - The holes are a bit too big, probably because I did not shrink the solder mask enough. Great otherwise.
Homecut - Cut on a Trotec laser Speedy 100 from Mylar and Kapton. The laser has a bi
t too much power, so pads need to be shrunk even more.
Overall it has been a great learning experience and I have probably spent more on research than I would have spent buying a hotshoe IMU like the solmeta off the shelf. However in the end the product does exactly what I would like it to do. Next step - find a suitable 3D printer on 3D Hubs and get an enclosure built, also complete the MBed code to make it all work.
- Xadow SD (CD4050) - Which allows using upto 32GB Micro SD Card and good read/write speeds due to the driver IC.
- Xadow Serial (SC16IS750) - Which adds 1 UART and 8 GPIO ports, with jumpers to allow upto 4 modules in chain.
- Xadow MultiSerial (SC16IS752) - Which adds 2 UART's (theres is not enough space for the GPIO's)
- Xadow IO (PCA0539) - Which adds upto 16 GPIO ports using I2C
 | |
| Chain of Xadow modules - GPS, Oled, 9-DOF IMU, Barometer, Dual-I2C Uart (Bluetooth), Xadow-M0, Xadow-SD (Left to Right) |
PCB Manufacture:
DirtyPCB - They use SeeedStudio for manufacture and fulfilment, but get bulk discounts and I love the Gerber preview option, no extra charge black PCB's and option to get extra PCB's in a batch. I have got gold finished PCB's from them as well these look rather good.
SeeedStudio - My first test PCB's were made here.They also provide an assembly service and a library of commonly used parts. In most cases I have managed to get 80% of the PCB assembled in China with 20% hand soldered at home, mainly crystals and main IC's.
OSHPark - This is the made in the USA solution to Hobbyist PCB's. They produce PCB's in a signature purple colour, which I guess is a soldermask colour no serious industrial PCB maker wants. The ENIG finish PCB's look rather good. The preview function is also handy. However the DRU for checking PCB's is a bit strict in terms of clearance at the board edges, vias are not automatically tented and signals require greater separation leading to a low density PCB overall.
I am yet to try PCBPool and local Australian and New Zealand options, but they are beyond the budget of hobbyists. Once I start manufacturing my designs I shall surely give them a go. Local hackerspace recommended #hackvana and I had a great chat with them as well.
Component Sourcing:
AliExpress - Components are a bit hit and miss, had the wrong ones sent at one point. All the ones tested work.
EBay - Probably same sellers as AliExpress. Similar performance, no bad shipments so far.
Element14 - Next day delivery is amazing for quick prototyping. The part search system has improved a lot and they even have an Eagle library for most of the common parts.
Samples from TI, Maxim and ON Semi - Nothing is as good as free stuff delivered express. All parts are detailed with CAD models (albeit in .bxl).
Stencil:
OSHStencil - The holes are a bit too big, probably because I did not shrink the solder mask enough. Great otherwise.
Homecut - Cut on a Trotec laser Speedy 100 from Mylar and Kapton. The laser has a bi
Overall it has been a great learning experience and I have probably spent more on research than I would have spent buying a hotshoe IMU like the solmeta off the shelf. However in the end the product does exactly what I would like it to do. Next step - find a suitable 3D printer on 3D Hubs and get an enclosure built, also complete the MBed code to make it all work.
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