Electronics Cause
| Location | The Electronics bench, taking up the right hand wall of the Green room, opposite where the TV is mounted. |
| Cause Leader | Lucas |
| Objective | To provide functional and professional electrical equipment for the development, debugging and assembly of electrical projects ranging in complexity and quality. From entry-level evaluation boards and Raspberry Pi's all the way up to PCB assembly and Reflow Soldering. |
| Members | Portal Cause Membership |
| Communications | Forum Category Discord Chat Trello Task Tracking |
| Operating Policy | Policy |
Cause Area Expectations
- Always clean the work area when you leave. Flag and/or clean up any mess left by others.
- Only “Extra Low Voltage” projects are allowed to be worked on, unless you are a licensed QLD electrician.
- Hot (heat) or Live (Powered) tools or projects must not be left unattended.
- Live projects should be adequatly protected from accidental bumping, proding, spills.
- Communicate with others if you have sensitive equipment exposed on the bench.
- This is a learning area, not everyone is an electrical engineer but many are enquisitive. Be prepared to answer questions about your project.
- Every tool has a place, and there is a place for every tool.
- Report worn, broken or missing tools to cause leaders
Cause Owned Equipment
Tools requiring Induction
Spot Welder -
- Induction process is to demonstrate safe use of the tool and then get them to try it also.
Reflow Oven -
- Induction process is to run through approved uses for the oven and how to achieve them and demonstrate use of front panel and default oven profiles.
- Maintainer is Lucas Oldfield (BadBiki)
- Work in progress… Finishing before EOY 2020!!
Tools requiring Supervision
The Reflow oven is currently under development, while it can complete some reflow tasks it needs special setup and loading as of Oct 2020. See BadBiki if need near term access. This will become a general access tool with basic online induction process once it is complete, calirated and reliable.
Process for becoming a Maintainer
Tools are generally maintained by the cause leader group, so check in with them before embarking on fixing a tool. If you have particular knowledge or passion for Electronics and assembly processes please talk to the Cause Leader group asap! we want you!
Process for becoming a Supervisor
No tools require supervision currently.
Ongoing Budgets
Monthly Consumables Discretionary - $100. This is for reimbursing purchases of things required from the Electronics Cause Consumables list.
Current Goals
- Move to a CLEAN bench policy after re-model. The entire benchtop will be instructed to be swept into the bin (except the obvious… leads). Work areas will have raised mounts, screens and shelves to enable full use of the benchtop for tools and projects. Not bags, laptops and stacks of equipment.
- Re-structue the benches and workstations into specialised task oriented work stations, equiped and layed out appropriately.
- Purchase, equip and stencil tool draws in a mobile toolchest that contains the causes sets of tools not permanently setup in a work station
- Organise and document the consumable parts that the cause will stock and supply.
- Hang appropriate tools for quick access at the different work stations
- Provide professional (DIGITAL) electrical test equipment that one would expect from a school, univerisity or entry-level electrical engineer role.
- Make the bays swipe-to-turn-on with a clear time indicator and a 'add time' button.
- Define the standard pins, connectors and crimpers that the cause will stock and provide.
- Acquire, hang or stencil each crimper in the toolbox or at a designated workstation
- Define the standard interconect parts, cables, connectors and passive/active components that the cause will stock
- Remove older style analogue multimeters, function generators and radio test equipment from the 1980s. hacker space is not a museam
- Define the entry level electronic test equipment, budget and purchase plan for such tools. Thinking basic RIGOL DMM, DC PSU
- Setup workstations with anti static matts, wrist bands, pull over coats
- Alter the benches to be “normal” sitting height with a small shelf half width and depth of the work station for mounting test equipment and tools onto
- Install monitor arms and microscopes with laptop USB 3.0/C docking stations. Also have pre-plugged USB hubs, serial port break out and other quick tools/programmers at the debug station
- All assembly stations will have dock, monitor and microscope or magnifying glass on arm.
- The work stations need to be highly functional and specialed for their intended purpose. A general work area ia messy and is left messy on most occasions. Clean work in clean areas, dirty work in diryy areas. Right tool at the right time for the right jon.
Current Work List (pre Trello)
- New test equipment, what brand, model, price, get a deal possible?
- Moniotrs, stands, docks, which? where? how much? sizes etc?
- What do we stock? Crimps, Crimpers and Components?
- What is defined at each workstation.
Cleaning plan
There are pictures of the bench in a clean state, please return them to it. Label where stuff should go and put it there if it isn't. Ensure that members who use the electronics workbench do the same.
Electronic Cause Workstation Designations and Purpose
Work in progress, thoughts first
PCB/Prototype/Production Electrical Debug Station
- ESD safe area with USB 3.0/C docking station and Screens on raised movable monitor/laptop arms.
- Scope, Digital Multi-channel DC Power Supply, Digital Function Generator and Digital Desktop Multi-meter.
- Cables, leads, Serial ports, digital IO debugger, i2c/spi bit-banger and common micro programming cables.
- Magnifying glass with integrated light on swing arm
- Side cutters, tweezers, clamps and Kapton tape within reach
- TS100 soldering iron with all sized tips for debug tweaks. Pulldown Power, storage tip clean and solder in storage box. Not intended to be always out.
PCB Rework and Board level Inspection Station
- Reflow oven, stencil holder, manual pick and place
- PCB clean up tools, IPA and wipes and cue tips
- Microscope, high optical zoom with screen recording
- Fine cutting blades, tweezers and PCB clamps
- 22-28 gauge enamel trace wire for “green wiring” repairs
- Hot-air gun for manual PCB re-work
- Through-hole de-soldering station
- SMD Tweezer soldering iron/station/combo
- Hand-use scrapers and micro drill bits
End Product Assembly and Cabling station
- Common crimping tools with the correct sized mandrels
- JST, Molex, AMP
- Side cutters, stepped drill bits and clamps for stripping cables and drilling enclosure holes.
- Heat shrink and hookup wire and multicore and ribbon cable
- M3 through M5 bolts, nuts in 5-16mm length
- M3 standoffs in plastic and metal
- M3 hot-inserts for 3d-printed and machined plastic cases
- M3 through M5 taps for threading plastic parts
- Small benchtop drill press and Benchtop Vice
- Hot-air gun for heat shrink
Battery Capacity Testing and Spot Welding Station
- 18650 LiIon bulk charger (30-way)
- 18650 LiIon Discharger with full data logging
- Programable Charger/Discharger Battery Cycle Tester
- Spot Welder (K-Weld)