Ultra Low Power Microcontroller With A Supercapacitor

This post is a follow-up to this blogs FRAM (ferroelectric random-access memory) post in June, and takes a look at a recently-introduced Texas Instruments (TI) FRAM LaunchPad development platform, as well as how to use FRAM effectively in a particular use case.

TI MSP-EXP430FR5969

First the FRAM development platform. It appears from a post on 43oh.com that the MSP430 ULP (ultra low power) FRAM board, MSP-EXP430FR5969, was soft-launched in February 2014, then rolled out with more fanfare and distributor partners in June 2014, per the Australian post, "element14 offers ultra-low power with Texas Instruments LaunchPad dev kit," and a number of other similar new product posts. The Australian post above says,

"Embedded FRAM, a non-volatile memory known for high endurance and high speed write access, together with ultra low power makes the MSP430 development platform suited for a wide variety of applications ranging from metering, wearable electronics, consumer electronics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to industrial and remote sensors, home automation and energy harvesting. The new development kit includes TIs new EnergyTrace++ technology, the worlds first debug system that enables developers to analyse power consumption down to 5nA resolution in real-time for each peripheral...Key features include MSP430 ULP FRAM technology-based 16-bit MSP430FR5969 MCU; 64KB FRAM/ 2KB SRAM; 16-Bit RISC architecture up to 8-MHz FRAM access/ 16MHz system clock speed; 5x Timer Blocks; Analogue: 16Ch 12-Bit differential ADC, 16Ch Comparator; Digital: AES256, CRC, DMA, HW MPY32; 20 pin LaunchPad standard leveraging the BoosterPack ecosystem. Various components including on-board eZ-FET emulation for programming, debugging and energy measurements have been provided in the evaluation kit for a fast start; on-board buttons and LEDs on the board enable quick integration of a simple user interface in addition to a SuperCap allowing standalone applications without an external power supply."

MSP430FR5969 LaunchPad Power Domain Block Diagram

The part that especially interests me is the SuperCap that enables a minimal level of operation without an external power supply (and without a battery?). Enabling MCUs to operate without external power sources was the topic of an earlier post on this blog, "Microcontrollers: Batteries Not Included. Or Needed." That post discussed getting the MCUs power from small energy harvesting devices. It would be nice if a supercapacitor turns out to be another no-batteries-needed option for MCUs. The boards Users Guide shows the power domain block diagram to the left and says, "The board is designed to support five different power scenarios. The board can be powered by eZ-FET or JTAG debugger, external power, BoosterPack power, or standalone super cap power." A bit of online research is needed, it appears, for me to totally understand just how much the MSP-EXP430FR5969 board can do using just the 100 mF capacitor and no external power. If Google and I cant figure that out, Ill check with Ed Smith to get my answer!

If youre interested in the MSP430FR5969 microcontroller (MCU) that powers the above development platform, consider reading the Electronics Weekly article, "Exploring FRAM microcontroller-based design – Texas Instruments." The graphic at the right from that article shows how flexible the memory configurations are in that MCU. Here are a few more resources to help you learn more about the MCU and its platform:

1. MSP430FRxx MCU overview page on TIs site.
2. MSP-EXP430FR5969 LaunchPad Evaluation Kit page on TIs site.
3. Overview of MSP430 Ultra-Low-Power MCUs PDF on TIs site.
4. MSP-EXP430FR5969 LaunchPad Development Kit Users Guide PDF on TIs site.
5. 6-part video tutorial on YouTube for the MSP-EXP430FR5969.

If you want to buy the MSP-EXP430FR5969 kit, Id suggest you consider either direct from TI ($24.00) or from Newark ($24.05). Octopart gives a good look at the price spread and availability of the kit, with costs ranging from TIs $24 up to more than $39 from Arrow. The 43oh post above shows one way manufacturers entice hardware developers to buy newly released components. For $5 extra ($29 for the kit instead of $24), when you ordered the MSP-EXP430FR5969 kit from TI when it first came out, you got both the kit and a "LS013B4DN04

SHARP Memory LCD display...1.35?...96×96 pixels wide...booster PCB has touch capability, with touch strips on either side of the LCD" which retailed for $18. I dont know if $5 for that LCD is a better deal than the small LCD Ed Smith had at the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meeting last week, but the touch strips would have made it an interesting component with which to experiment. Element14 also has a road kit for the board which includes the same LCD.

The other part of this post was going to be on an ideal use case for the MSP430FR5969 MCUs FRAM. However, I wrote more about the TI development kit than I planned on, and Im being mindful of feedback I got that said (at least some of) my posts were too long. So for people interested in reading about that use case right away, heres a link to the article about the FRAM-MCU application I mentioned at the start of this post. Ill discuss that use case in tomorrows post, and maybe have a couple other examples of good applications for an MCU that doesnt pull much amperage and has FRAM. If you read the FRAM-MCU application article, send me your comments and questions regarding that article -- arcatabob (at) gmail {dott}com. Thanks!

**********

Read More..

Grilled Cheese Smart Box Microcontroller And A Whole Lot More

The Smart Box uses a microcontroller (mcu), and a whole lot more, to keep fresh grilled cheese sandwiches hot, moist and crisp.

Fresh, tasty, warm grilled cheese sandwich

The Smart Box is an innovation that dramatically demonstrates two sometimes overlooked non-electronics aspects of MCU-focused projects that can require as much work as the electronics, if not more work. Those two non-electronics issues are:

1. Figuring out what you need the MCU to control.
2. Figuring out all the non-electronic hardware issues for the project.

The goal of the Smart Box designers was to create an environment that could extend the highly edible lifetime of a fresh grilled cheese from seven minutes to at least thirty minutes. As Fast Magazine tells the story, the design team tried to find,

"...a way to extend the sandwichs woefully short shelf life. They discovered that each Melt had about seven minutes before going cold, leaving the cheese to congeal and making for a subpar grilled cheese-eating experience...the team looked far and wide for a food transport box that could maintain just the right temperature while striking the right balance between moisture and crispiness for 30 to 60 minutes at a time...what we realized is that if you maintained the temperature, and you had even airflow, and a way to get some of the moisture out of the product as it sat in the box, that it can hold a Melt for over 20 minutes and still meet temperature, moisture, and crispness guidelines."

Sandwich container with ridges and holes for hot air circulation

The first part of the MCU project had nothing to do with an MCU. Most products and design projects involving an MCU will start by figuring out how the product or project ought to work to achieve the projects goal. For the Smart Box, the goal was a good tasting sandwich. So the first part of that project was to determine what ambient conditions would keep the sandwich from getting cold and soggy. It was obvious the grilled cheese sandwich storage and transport unit would need heat. They would have to keep the temperature low enough so it didnt cook the sandwich more, but high enough so the cheese would be nice and soft. And the temperature would need to be uniform throughout the sandwich storage and transport unit. After experimenting with different conditions, and probably eating quite a few grilled cheese sandwiches, they found the right temperature (190 - 200 degrees F) and the right moisture to keep the sandwich tasting good.

The next step was to develop a combination of materials, shapes, heaters, fans, etc, that would maintain the necessary temperature and moisture for the sandwiches. Air flow was key, both throughout the large insulated food transport box and throughout the smaller sandwich containers that sit on the shelves inside the food transport box. The majority of this physical design and development work didnt focus much on electronics of the project, other than to keep the fan pushing air and to keep the heater warming up the air. The Fast Company article explained:

"...for any of this to work, the air had to circulate around the sandwich so that the heat surrounding it was constant, like a convection oven with size restraints...Heres how it works: It uses a hot plate made out of aluminum to keep everything warm. But since direct heat can burn its contents, its covered with a shield while an internal fan ensures proper air circulation. The whole system is sensitive, so inside are sensors that monitor the environment for precise heat and humidity levels. A microcontroller is used to make small adjustments automatically, ensuring that the grilled cheese arrives at your door or desk nice and toasty."

Once the physical design of the box was mostly figured out, the electronics wizards started working their magic. They figured out what temperature sensors to use and where to put them. The fan power and controls were designed and the rest of the MCU functions were programmed.

Im sure figuring out the sensors, controls, MCU and programming took much longer than the length of the above paragraph indicates. But for the grilled cheese Smart Box, theres little doubt in my mind that the design-build issues requiring non-electronics maker skills or physical design knowledge took more time and brainpower than the MCU-related part of the project. The Smart Box illustrates why the Humboldt makers who really enjoy MCUs also need lots of other types of knowledge or need to collaborate with others who have the non-electronics skills.

**********

Read More..

Atmel Microcontroller Powers Kickstarter Sci Fi Hoverbike

According to a recent post titled "Hoverbikes may soon become a reality," the futuristic hoverbike featured in an in-progress Kickstarter campaign is controlled by an Atmel ATmega32U4 microcontroller (MCU).

Cyborg Buster on scale model hovercraft

The Atmel post explains that the Kickstarter campaign supporters dont get a full-size human-carrying hovercraft, but rather a 1/3 size model of the airborne motorcycle current design.

"Hoverbikes may not be ready for your daily commute just yet, but thanks UK-based Malloy Aeronautics, we’re now a step closer. Debuting just days ago on Kickstarter, the firm is producing a one-third sized version of its design to help fund the full-sized prototype. “This drone was originally built as a proof of concept for our latest full-sized Hoverbike prototype...After testing the one-third Hoverbike, we realized that it had lots of features that made it a fantastic drone, not only this — selling this scale Hoverbike to the public would allow us to raise funds to continue the development of the manned version.”...the 1.15-meter-long mini replica can carry payloads of around 1.5kg and weighs in at 2.2kg unladen. The 3DR Pixhawk flight controller allows for it to be controlled remotely, as well as follow predetermined flight paths — or the pilot themselves — automatically. The mini-hoverbike also comes equipped with a third-scaled, 3D-printed humanoid ‘pilot’ complete with a space on its head specifically-designed for a GoPro camera."

Hovercraft folds up

There are several aspects of this MCU project and Kickstarter campaign worth remarking on, some of which come from my recent immersion in the world of MCUs and others from my years of covering aviation innovations for the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aspects of interest are:

1. The MCU controlling the scale model is a relatively low-powered 8-bit AVR unit, the ATmega32U4. It would be interesting to know what their criteria was for choosing that specific MCU.
2. Its kind of cool that the hoverbike project has spun off the Macro Micro Arduino-compatible board that can be bought for $50 from the Malloy Aeronautics hovercraft website. Thats an opportunity made possible by the open source concept of the Arduino ecosystem.
3. The hovercraft folds up for transportation.
4. I like the Cyborg Buster rider designed for and shown in pictures of the Kickstarter hovercraft. It will be 3D printed by people who want the lifelike figure, and it has a cavity in its head for a Go-Pro video camera. Creating an appealing cyborg which really has nothing to do with whether this

   

   Cyborg Buster

   is an airworthy hovercraft is an excellent marketing strategy.
5. The quadcopter design of the hovercraft is unusual in that the two front props appear to partially overlap, as do the two in the rear. Im not an aeronautical engineer or pilot, but it would be interesting to know how that impacts the aerodynamics of the craft.
6. The Kickstarter campaign page combines two stories -- one about the full-size hovercraft and one about the scale model quadcopter. Mixing the two stories like that may leave the reader somewhat unclear as to exactly what they are funding when they contribute to the campaign.
7. The radical departure from traditional aircraft paradigms mean that the hoverbike Kickstarter supporters should not expect a commercial model of the full-size flight-ready hoverbike for quite a few years. Check the history of the Terrafugia Transition and the Martin Jetpack -- youll see what I mean.

With respect to the Atmel MCU and the scale model hoverbike quadcopter, the Kickstarter website says:

"If you have never flown a multicopter before, we highly recommend purchasing a small drone to practice with first (the Hubsan X4 is great to start with).  We designed this 1/3rd scale Hoverbike to be safe and robust, however without rc experience you will be sure to fly your brand new Hoverbike into the ground on the first day and there are practical limits to how strong we can make this!...Our MAcro Micro is an Arduino Micro compatible microcontroller that is easy to program, with 3A inputs and outputs, up to 30V in, analog out, and has hundreds of uses in robotics and home projects, including stepper motor driver, LED strip light controller, servo actuator, fan speed controller, brew kit controller, electric car window conversions...We designed this tiny board to drive the multicolor LEDs on the Hoverbike, and to allow owners of our 1/3rd Hoverbikee to do more with their drone than just look passively from the sky, by switching and actuating levers, release pins, spot lights via their radio or program."

UMaine Hover

Atmel MCUs have been used in the drone ArduPilots for quite a few years, but this hoverbike Kickstarter campaign shows the expanding non-engineering use of MCUs. In this case, the MCU is really being used as a marketing tool to raise R&D money, rather than just being the brains of the quadcopter autopilot.

On a related note for those readers interested in this type of personal aircraft, here are links to two other hoverbike projects. The first is for the UMaine Hover, a senior design project for a group of University of Maine students. Heres a link to the UMaine Hover website. The second project was the Aerofex hover

Aerofex hover bike

bike from a couple years ago. The LA Times article has a video of thats worth watching of a test run on the airborne personal sportcraft. Looks like it would have fun to pilot. Aerofex apparently made it clear that they werent planning to sell the aircraft as a human-piloted craft, but were rather using it as a drone development tool.

If the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group wanted to get involved with quadcopters, Id be all for that. My recommendation, though, would be to get some flying experience with a well

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

tested one like the Parrot AR.Drone. Ive flown that a little, and it was both fun and relatively easy to keep in the air. One of the participants in a recent meeting of the MCU group had interesting stories to tell about his adventures with drones and MCUs. If you have built or flown an MCU-controlled quadcopter, consider coming to an upcoming meeting of the MCU group. The next meeting is on August 7th. Hope to see you there!

**********

Read More..

Mutli Phase Humboldt MCU Garden Project

As yesterdays Humboldt Laser Harp post indicated, the microcontroller (MCU) music group project is well under way. So now Im thinking about how to get the second group project started in the Humboldt Microcontrollers Group, one involving gardening.

MCU and sensors for potted plant

Several people whove been at Humboldt Makers Group meetings or the MCU group meetings have said theyre interested in MCUs and gardening. And it seems like lots of other people in Humboldt County might have an interest in ways to improve gardening. There are lots of organic gardeners in the area, and agriculture has been part of the Humboldt economy for much of the areas history. So Ive decided to outline a multi-phase approach to a collaborative project focused on MCU gardening. And a significant part of this collaborative project will be identifying and reaching out to Humboldt people who are involved in gardening or agriculture and might be interested in sharing their knowledge and / or participating in this project.

MCU and hydroponics

Two long term goals I have for the MCU gardening is to be involved with a successful hydroponics system and a successful aquaponics system. There are lots of websites and projects on the Internet that tell a person how to do hydroponics or aquaponics, but Im an engineer, and I like to understand what Im doing. Plus I dont have a lot of money to spend on these projects. So my preferred approach to MCU gardening is to start out small, and get more complex after I understand the technology and green thumb art involved with each part of the MCU garden project.

Below are proposed MCU garden project phases. If we get the right people involved with the project and if we can secure funding of some type for the project, we can move very quickly through the phases or work on more than one phase at a time. So if you know people whod like to participate in this project or know of money that can be used for purchasing electronic components and supplies for this, please contact me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com. These are the proposed phases for the Humboldt MCU Garden group project:

MCU and aquaponics (from dzbc.org.cn)

1. Grow one plant indoor in soil.
2. Grow four to eight plants indoor in soil.
3. Grow four types of plants outdoor in soil.
4. Grow one tray of plants indoors in hydroponic system.
5. Grow three types of plants indoors in hydroponic system.
6. Grow one type of plant in aquaponics system.
7. Grow three types of plants in aquaponics system.

Phase 1 of the Humboldt MCU Garden project is simple and low cost and will help us learn the basic principles of MCU gardening. Phases 2 through 7 can easily be redefined as we get more people involved in the project and we learn more about what we dont know about MCU gardening.

The first draft design of the Humboldt MCU Garden project includes:

1. One type of plant.

   

   LEDs and lettuce

1. Lettuce is my first choice, partly because of whats being done with optimized lettuce mcu gardening in Japan and other places (see my blog post "LED Lettuce, The HydroTower And LED Humboldt Hydroponics.") We might be able to find useful data about optimum growing conditions for lettuce (light wavelengths, relative humidity, nutrients, temperature, etc.).
2. If other people who want to participate in the Humboldt MCU Garden project prefer to grow something other than lettuce and have information about good growing conditions for that plant, Im willing to switch from lettuce.
2. Growing container.
1. The type of growing container probably wont be too critical for Phase 1. Mainly something large enough to hold the soil and drainage system that will provide good growing conditions for the plant.
2. A five gallon plastic bucket is one option, especially if we can find a free one.
3. We need to figure out where the container with the plant and MCU Garden system will be kept. It seems like Phase 1 should mostly be indoors because that means we dont need to have a rain-proof system. But having a Phase 1 container thats easily movable would be nice so we can roll or carry the container outside on nice days.
3. Growing condition sensors
1. Light sensor -- very important so we get good photosynthesis (and good respiration?).

   

   One type of light sensor (from Adafruit)

2. Soil moisture sensor -- very important because too dry means dead plant and too wet means dead plant.
3. Temperature sensor -- important for growth, especially during Humboldt winters. Temperature will be less critical for plants like lettuce, but very critical for plants like tomatoes.
4. Relative humidity sensor (RH) -- RH wont be critical for lettuce growth in Phase 1, but it will be critical as the projects future phases try to minimize water usage and as we try to grow RH-sensitive plants like redwood trees.
4. LEDs for indoor gardening
1. RGB LEDs will let us adjust the light if we want
2. Red and Blue LEDs appear to be used for optimum lettuce growth.
3. Research and / or people who know plant growth lighting and LEDs are required.
5. MCU to gather and record sensor data
1. Which MCU we use for the Humboldt MCU Garden project depends partly on who wants to be involved with the project.
1. If we can get a sponsor for the Humboldt MCU Garden project, such as an MCU manufacturer or distributor, Ill use whichever MCU they manufacture or distribute!
2. If no MCU manufacturer or distributor sponsor can be recruited, the MCU will be determined by whoever takes the lead on programming for the project.
1. If Ed takes the lead, well probably use a Texas Instruments MCU.
2. If Josiah takes the lead, or if Im filling that role, it will likely be an Arduino or Arduino-compatible.
3. If someone other than Josiah, Ed or me volunteers to lead the garden-variety programming for this project, that person can choose the MCU type.
6. Type of soil
1. Determining what type of soil to use will require research or a project member who has good experience with growing plants indoors in containers.
2. The type of soil will likely affect other gardening aspects such as what nutrients we need to add and the soil moisture measurement.
7. Fertilizer and trace nutrients to add
1. Fertilizer and trace nutrients is another topic that will require research or a project member experienced in the art.
2. Might want to evaluate whether pH or some other batch or continuous sensor (pH? nutrient analysis?) should be used to track nutrient levels.
8. Data gathering and analysis
1. There are no specific requirements for data gathering and analysis for Phase 1 since its such a simple system. However, part of the purpose of Phase 1 is to learn how to effectively monitor growing conditions, so it makes sense to establish good gardening data practices (GGDP) for those growing conditions and different types of sensors.
   
2. As part of my goal to get Humboldt people more involved in the Internet of Things (IoT), it would be good to use services like open data bases and IFTTT (If This Then That).
3. One gardening data goal is to use that data to automatically track, alarm and interpret the data generated by the sensors. It would be nice to generate online graphs and have alarms sent out by IFTTT when growing conditions reach or approach setpoints where action needs to be taken.

The above outline give you an idea of what I think Phase 1 of the Humboldt MCU Garden group project should look like. Next steps for me to get this project rolling are (1) talk to and try to recruit a couple people whove expressed an interest in MCU gardening, (2) promote the project to other people in the Humboldt Makers and MCU group and try to recruit some of them, (3) develop a one-page MCU project proposal that I can use to pitch to potential sponsors, and (4) continue to do research for Phase 1 topics like sensors, nutrients and soil types.

If you are interested in this project or know someone who might be, please email me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com or come to an MCU group meeting or Humboldt Makers meeting in the near future.

**********

Read More..

Musicians Microcontroller Magic

Todays post takes a look at using microcontrollers in musical instruments, the subject of a couple recent online articles, as well as the topic of a discussion last night about building a laser harp (see the June 27 post about laser harps). Using microcontrollers to create, control or modify music, as well as converting the music or the performers inputs into a visual experience of light and motion could be a tool for interested creative people in Humboldt to bring new sensations to audiences here and elsewhere.

Nomis -- a music-light instrument

A pretty cool way to use MCUs in a musical instrument is Nomis, as shown in the recent PSFK article, "Musical Instrument Interface Displays Complex, Layered Composition." Along with showcasing great pictures of the unique sound-light machine, the article explains Jonathan Sparks creation this way:

"Nomis by Jonathan Sparks makes loop-based music an expressive and visual experience. Created by Brooklyn, New York-based artist, musician and maker Jonathan Sparks, Nomis is a new musical instrument interface that aims to make loop-based music more complex, expressive and visually-entertaining through gestures and lights. Sparks...combined Arduino, Max/MSP, and Ableton Live to allow the musical instrument to loop and display MIDI sounds across two light towers and a polyphonic octagonal interface. The light towers and polyphonic octagonal interface respond to gestures to create layered melodies. The

melodies are illustrated via colorful lights, with each sound represented by a different color. What results is a stunning musical and light show."

Watch the Nomis video embedded in the designboom article, "jonathan sparks invents loop-based instrument using color and gesture." When I watched it, I started wondering what type of captivating performances could be given by a four or five-person band if each person in the band had a different but complementary audio-visual instrument which gave the audience a sensory-overload experience with music, light and motion. Those instruments could also explore a variety of new and traditional musician inputs, such as touch-panels with haptic feedback, keyboards, foot pedals, and movement of the fingers, hands, torso, head and feet,  that generate the audio-visual compositions. As John H said at the July 10 Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meeting when we were discussing a group project to build a laser harp, a band with MCU-controlled audio-visual instruments could truly be called the Electric Light Orchestra, or some takeoff on that name.

The designboom article explains the music-light interaction this way:

"nomis is a musical instrument by jonathan sparks that reinvents the way that producers and artists interact with MIDI boards...MIDI sounds are played and repeated to pass across the machine as a way of illustrating how songs are created and how they fit within an overall composition...they are displayed through the first of two polychromatic light towers, indicating that they are available to be played from the polyphonic octagonal interface in the middle made of black and frosted plexiglass. the interior edge of the construct allows the composer to play the individual tones of his or her choosing. as the interface is spun counterclockwise, the loops are then transferred through to the second tower where each set can be turned off and on again to create a dynamic harmony."

Another MCU music project was covered in a July 10 Gizmag article titled "Tele Servo Bender emulates a lap steel sound using servos." The Tele Servo Bender seems to be more an MCU-controlled instrument to generate close to the same sound that a human-played traditional lap steel guitar gives, as compared to a wildly different musical-light experience from the Nomis.

As I read this article, it made me wonder if the Servo Bender or something very close to it in design will result in AI-played steel guitar concerts with computer generated hologram performers. Concerts that teenagers 25 years from now will walk away from and not fully realize that similar performances used to be only given by a skilled live person. Sort of in the same way that most of todays teenagers might intellectually know that milk comes from a cow, but would find it hard to visualize that real world process of a dairy farm and have never been exposed to a cow being milked in person.

For people interested in the Servo Bender programming, the Gizmag article said the instruments designer, Dean Miller, has made the MCU code available to anyone who wants to build a similar instrument.

If *you* might like to help design, build or play instruments involving MCUs, come to the next Humboldt Microcontrollers Group meeting on July 24 or contact me at arcatabob (at) gmail {dott} com.

**********

Read More..

Democratize Electronics From Idea To Circuit In Minutes

Squink is a recently launched Kickstarter project which is described as "the personal electronic circuit factory."

It seems like Squink could be of high interest to Humboldt people who frequently prototype new electronics designs, especially ones involving microcontrollers (MCUs). I personally wouldnt need a Squink of my own, but Id love to have access to one. If this Kickstarter campaign hits its funding target of $100,000, every makerspace and hackerspace is going to want a Squink. However, the project appears to be off to a slow start, so I hope the funding pace picks up over the next week or two.

According to the BotFactory website,

"Using inkjet technology, Squink prints conductive ink on a surface to create the traces of the circuit. You can print GERBER RS-274X files or upload PNG, JPG or BMP files...Squink uses the soldermask file generated by your CAD tool to place dots of conductive glue in every connection point where a part is to be connected...Aimed at assembling SMD based circuits, Squink uses vacuum to pick components from a tray. Then it aligns them using computer vision, rotates them according to the "Centroid and Rotation" file created in your CAD tool and places them accurately."

Squink is a simplified printed circuit board (PCB) fab and assembly prototyping tool. However, the TechCrunch post says that the Squink founders arent trying to replace the PCB batch fab companies like OSH Park, or the straightforward PCB fab companies.

"They don’t want Squink to replace the current process of sending projects to manufacturers to build but want it to be a tool for people to test out their ideas immediately, without having to create a delay in the creative process. “We really want to be a stepping stone — try it out really quickly and once you’re ready, then you crank out about 100 boards from a manufacturer..."

The BotFactory blog gives a little more background on the genesis of the Squink concept.

"We were both attending a challenging class on Bio-electronics...you had one semester to design, assemble, and test a basic EEG system (also called a brainwave reader; our version was capable of measuring attention and winking). While the design of the EEG probes on paper and then on a CAD program took a big part of the semester, what was later revealed as the most critical part was the circuit fabrication itself. Out of the 8 teams, only 1 managed to finish on time for the end of the semester. The reason was simply frustrating: it took PCB manufacturers around 7 to 10 days to fabricate and ship all the boards. If you had made even a single mistake in your design, you had to send your design for fabrication again, and you were sure to miss the deadline."

Although the implementation of the concept may seem a bit simplistic to PCB designers who are used to complicated circuits on multi-layer boards with very narrow traces, I expect people using the Squink and similar personal electronic circuit factories to come up with novel and interesting applications over the next few years. I have no doubt that enterprising middle school students who get their hands on a Squink will make money printing off custom circuits for their friends and neighbors. And those same middle school students will later develop a new printing technique, or a new electronic circuit substrate, or some other personal electronic circuit factory concept that no college student or electrical engineer has yet thought of...

What MCU circuit would you print tonight if you had a Squink to play with?

**********

Read More..