... | @@ -5,16 +5,16 @@ Knowledge gleaned from failure. |
... | @@ -5,16 +5,16 @@ Knowledge gleaned from failure. |
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## Designing
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## Designing
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1. Altium Designer is great! Until it's not...
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1. Altium Designer is great! Until it's not...
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1. Adding a new schematic or footprint to a group Altium library (e.g. WarnickShareLibrary) must be designed outside the library first. Then when complete, copy/paste it into the group library. This prevents multiple users from working in the same library and overwriting/losing each others' changes.
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1. Adding a new part to a group Altium library (e.g. WarnickShareLibrary) must be designed outside the library first. When complete, copy/paste it into the group library afterwards. This prevents multiple users from working in the same library and overwriting/losing each others' changes.
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1. Check the export to Gerber files carefully, epecially holes and solder mask layers.
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1. Check the export to Gerber files carefully, epecially holes and solder mask layers.
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1. Get another student to review your PCB before having it sent out. Many errors are caught this way.
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1. Get another student to review your PCB before having it sent out. Many errors are caught this way.
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## Soldering and Prototyping
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## Soldering and Prototyping
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1. Flux is your friend
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1. Flux is your friend
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1. Use leaded solder - it has a lower melting temperature and makes rework much easier for prototype boards, especially with small pitch sizes on pads.
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1. Use leaded solder; the lower melting temperature makes rework easier.
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1. Temperature matters!
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1. Temperature matters!
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1. When reworking a part with a heat gun, bath it in heat with the tip held a couple inches away for 30 seconds or so first, then bring the tip closer. This will help prevent thermal shock. Same for cooling down. Most chips can only take 1 or 2 reworks before they're toast.
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1. When reworking with a heat gun, bath the part in heat with the tip held a couple inches away for 30 seconds or so at first, then bring the tip closer. Helps prevent thermal shock. Same for cooling down. Most chips can only take 1 or 2 reworks before they're toast.
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## Tricks
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## Tricks
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