PCB Request

Just a request to the developers.
Could you please ensure there is always a PDF file of the electronic circuit board copper traces available - I notice with the recent shift to manufactured boards there is no longer the PDF's. Same with the Opto switch boards (can't find the pdf at all).
I don't mind printing an old board design as log as it works (you've linked to v 1.1 of the pwer and comms card). I'm not too interested in downloading a hoard of development software just to print out the board- I don't have the time to properly figure out how to use it all!

I think it is very important that folks have the ability to make their own pcb's in order to reduce costs. I don't have the knowledge to develop reprap but I do want to be able to make it from scratch.

Also - it would be handy if you could note the differences between the various versions so we can decide if it's worth changing/upgrading.


Oh - I've just etched the version 1.1 power & comms card - looks fab!
Nathan.

I think the omission of PDFs from the published UniversalController-v1.2.zip file (and PowerComms-1.2.zip) was probably a packaging error.

See [reprap.svn.sourceforge.net]

for the v1.2 stuff as it sits in the development tree... PDFs and all :-)

NOTE: This is fine for right now... this is not the "official standard" way to get these files for the longer term:-)

Right now pretty much all install instructions assume that all users want to be developers, so they lead you through downloading the full development environment for everything. As the project reaches "v1.0" status that will (we hope!) change, files will be better packaged for easier "end user" installation.

Per discussion with Zach, The v1.2 power and comms card is essentially the same as v1.1 but uses different power connectors (a molex for power input is the biggie) and is layed out better for "production" use than for home-made PCB creation.

> I don't have the knowledge to develop reprap
> but I do want to be able to make it from scratch.

You should be able to use the v1.1 PCB files for building all the electronics just fine.

Bear in mind, though, that as of right now, getting all the way to a working Repstrap is likely to be extremely difficult or impossible if you do not "have the time to properly figure out how to use it all"... right now this remains a research project, and successful Repstrap builds require considerable time investment and a wide range of skills on the part of the builder -- at least, that's my impression!

Jonathan

Be careful going back for the stripboard versions. They are designed against the old firmware. Pins have moved around. You'll have to compare schematics and adjust. I used the 754410 so there was no new equivalent for me and I had to do it manually, so I know it can be done

yup, what jonathan said was correct. basically, i did those files manually. i actually complained about the same thing a while ago. naturally, i didnt think anyone was crazy enough to etch their own once we had them for sale. you do bring up a good point, and adding PDF's to the release makes alot of sense.

also, it should be automated. GERBER are the type of files in there, a standard format. i looked around, and found a command line GERBER -> postscript converter for linux. from there, you can use a command line PS -> PDF to convert it. this should be something that can easily be automated. i'll attempt that in the next day or two.

[www.artwork.com]

crap. apparently the program is commercial. i'll keep looking for a free one. i guess in the meantime i can manually plot them to PDF via KiCad.

If you can live without the intermediate step..
[www.swcp.com]

ha! i certainly wont lose any sleep over it.

alrighty, i guess i'll see about automating that process. it really shouldnt be too hard. with this software. i'll do a manual export first just to get those files out there, then see how the automatic stuff works.

> Bear in mind, though, that as of right now,
> getting all the way to a working Repstrap is
> likely to be extremely difficult or impossible if
> you do not "have the time to properly figure out
> how to use it all"... right now this remains a
> research project, and successful Repstrap builds
> require considerable time investment and a wide
> range of skills on the part of the builder -- at
> least, that's my impression!
>
> Jonathan


Yeah you're right of course. I guess I'll face each obstable as it comes up. I can't design PCB's well but I can etch and solder with no problem. Building the mechanical bits is not an issue. What I will have an issue with is the software - ensuring that it works with the motors I order etc & tweaking. I'd just rather not have to learn Kicad or Gerber as well.


I really like the new Power comms card design - really neat.

cool. i dunno if i can get the PDF's made tonight, as there is a bday party i must attend. but i will make it part of the release process, and they will be out by this weekend for sure.

i'm glad you like the powercomms design. the addition of the disk drive connector makes this thing SO much safer. its practically impossible to fry a board or computer (like i did...) even if you solder it in wrong (like i did at first...), you're only running 5v where 12v should go (and not reversing polarity). if this happens then the board just doesnt work properly... no damage.

Zach,

If this works out, you could look at adding the config file(s) for it to svn, and add the commands needed to a Makefile under electronics/ so the PDFs get auto generated. That way we don't need to keep PDFs in svn :-)

We may want to hack the script to allow command line override of the config file name, so we can have one such file per PCB -- then the output .pdf files can ne uniquely but easily customized for each PCB by having a .cfg file for each one.

gerber2pdf --config powercomm1.2.cfg

or whatever. Looks like being a trivial enhancement, but one that could simplify automation/integration into a Makefile-based release process. If we can assume one Gerber file per subdirectory, then this change isn't needed, of course, we can put one gerber2pdf.cfg file into each dir. But tracking a set of those files, all different but each with the same filename, might be mistake-prone?

One more hint: Please set the paper size to A4, as the international default, even though some of us live in the USA :-)

Jonathan

yeah, i was definitely going to create a script. i'll probably model it off the firmware script that you and i hacked together.

And thanks for listening folks!

nathan... check the sourceforge pages. we now have PDF files in the releases! if you see any problems, please let me know and i can fix any mistakes.