Building a "production" prototype from a project
andresleon
Posts: 2
Hello Everyone,
Very new user. Just purchased the Homework board from radioshack... very interesting in learning more.
Here is my question... and please be gentle if this is way too simple:
let's say that i have completed a project and feel it is ready to be used regularly. Can i purchase the microcontroller alone and recreate the same circuit onto·a circuit board to be soldered? how, in other words, do i go from the homework board to a real board so the device can be used daily?
Again, sorry if this is off topic or if this has already been answered. I appreciate your responses and constructive feedback!
Andres
Very new user. Just purchased the Homework board from radioshack... very interesting in learning more.
Here is my question... and please be gentle if this is way too simple:
let's say that i have completed a project and feel it is ready to be used regularly. Can i purchase the microcontroller alone and recreate the same circuit onto·a circuit board to be soldered? how, in other words, do i go from the homework board to a real board so the device can be used daily?
Again, sorry if this is off topic or if this has already been answered. I appreciate your responses and constructive feedback!
Andres
Comments
A basic answer to your question is yes... The easiest thing to do is just poke around the store part of the parallax site. On the page you can also get a diagram on how to hook up a DB9 for a serial port and power input pins...
Below is a link...
http://www.parallax.com/Products/Microcontrollers/tabid/81/Default.aspx
Everybody has the same issue. Not at all off topic.
In addition to the boards offered by Parallax, there are all kinds of third party products, which you will hear discussed in the forum. Many of them are fine for permanent one off projects.
There is also a growing market for specialized boards. So, if you can't find something that really works for you project and you decide to go to the trouble to build it yourself, you can ask if anyone else would be interested... and usually, there is.
The guys here are fabulous at looking at your schematics and providing really great hardware advice.
The nice thing about the education kits is that by the time you get done ... you will know the specific information that you need to build your own.
Rich
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampModules/tabid/134/CategoryID/9/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/1/Default.aspx
A radioshack board would work with the above module if you make all the right connections. The board below has them made already:
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampDevelopmentBoards/tabid/137/CategoryID/12/List/0/SortField/0/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/122/Default.aspx
You would be surprised to find out most people who play with these kinds of things always come to that question.
I find (actually putting the parts on the boards for other people) the biggest challenge is to spend the money and build a few prototypes before going into full production. It is natural to think mistakes will not be made, only to find out a lot of money was spent on boards that will not work. Do yourself a favor and build at least one full board like the production model, before purchasing a number of boards to be assembled.
You may be surprised at how many revisions there are before the production model emerges. I find at least three for each of my designs. The unhappy part is that my prototypes cost 4X (each) the cost of what my production models cost. Buying in bulk really saves a huge amount of money.
I do have a checklist of items that should be considered when moving from design to production. If anyone is interested, I could post the document here. It is our document for prospective customers, but should serve as a nice base for any production company (at home or not).
James L
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
thanks again!
Andres