Every so often I update my CV, I am not a huge fan of Microsoft Word, or other Word Processors. Texmaker is a free open source LaTeX editor that works cross platform, on my Mac it makes generating my CV simpler. My CV is now stored in my GitHub account […]
PCB
11 posts
I have got my PCB rule business card PCBs back from JLCPCB, so now to check everything works and build one up
On LinkedIn a while ago Glen one of the reps at Würth Elektronik offered free PCB fidget spinners. I asked nicely if MiniBoyGeek could have one, and as such one was delivered, I am glad I opened the bag before giving it to him. A fun little build of 9 […]
I have been trying to design a K9 for 3D printing for a while, even using Fusion 360 getting the body design has been a stumbling block, On Facebook, there is a k-9 builders community and a link to a OneDrive account with 200 x 200 sliced STLs. I have […]
After the Origin issue, another one of KiCad’s slight annoyances is when the contents of the paper space title blocks get out of sync, looking at the support tickets, this is by design, however, it doesn’t stop it from being an annoying “feature”. This is especially problematic when you go […]
One of the problems I have when designing PCBs, or working in CAD with a view to 3D printing it is easy to lose sight of how big things on the screen are in real life. A lot of the time when you move away from working with through-hole components […]
When you have been using KiCad for a while to make PCBs, one of the things you will come to find is a pain is that by default the KiCad grid origin is set up in the top left of the Paper Space, which makes it a bit of a […]
The IPC 2221 voltage and spacing standards have two general voltage levels for creepage and clearance, which it defines as “Low Voltage” and “High Voltage”, Some of the “High Voltage” would be considered SELV (Safety Extra Low Voltage), the IPC 2221 Low Voltage is <15 V DC or AC RMS, […]
Using IPC 2221 to work out creepage and clearance track widths for use in KiCad for both Low and High Voltages.
You may have heard the saying “never trust the autorouter”, you may have even seen it written on a t-shirt! Back when I used Eagle ECAD (Before AutoDesk did their thing), there was a built-in autorouter that was a handy tool to use to help with working out if you […]
Sometimes I need to create and model my own KiCad components for use in my component library. For example, I found some cheap small microswitches on AliExpress that I am looking to use in SwarmBot, however, there was no existing KiCad Component in the library. I found an identical switch […]