What is electronics production?

In FDFAB, the electronics production that we are doing is the milling of a PCB (printed circuit board)
We are learning how to operate a CNC (Computer numerical control) machine to mill out our own PCB.

Why make our own PCB?

Making our own PCB allows us to have a circuit board that is taliored to our project needs, a greater reliability as well as better intergration as compared to pre-made circuit boards such as an arduino uno.

Milling Machine in FabLab

FabLab SP uses the Stepcraft milling machine. It is the picture below

This is the recommended settings to use Stepcraft

Make sure to also check that the file is correct before milling out the circuit board!

Using mods

How we set the settings for the g-code is by using mods. G-code is a "geometric code" which is able to tell the machine where and how fast it should move. It is the most common file format used for CNC machining.
To use mods, first "right click" and open 'programs', next 'open server program'. Scroll and find 'G-code mill 2D png'
Once you see the page like picture on top, you can follow the recommended setting for your file

Before milling your PCB you can also run the file using CAMotics to ensure that it works before using Stepcraft.

ISP Programmer

We were tasked to make our own ISP programmer. ISP stands for in-system programming.
This ISP programmer allows us to program our microcontroller boards when installed instead of having to pre-programme the microcontroller before installing.

The picture above is the milling of the ISP

The picture above is the ISP after milling

Next you have to add in all the Tiny parts into your ISP programmer, the parts can be seen in the picture below which I took from Mr Noels website

This is my own ISP with the components soldered. IT IS NOT EASY AT ALL :( Tiny parts are no fun HAHAHA