EP#357: Seventh Annual MacroFab Star Wars Christmas Special – We're the Rebel Codebreakers!

Previous EpisodesMisha last heard on MEP EP #142: Supply Chain Conspiracy SecuritiesChris last heard on MEP EP#212: The End of Electronics Manufacturing?!The State of Digital ManufacturingWhat is digital manufacturing?Is there a definition of digital manufacturing?Other players in this space.Some business models are winning, some models are stuck in neutral.New Round of InvestmentWhy does a manufacturer need investment?The nature of investorsDoes anyone actually care about this?What does this all mean for new technologies and business models in manufacturing? Does anyone care? Or is it just normal sorting of what works from what doesn't?ReshoringNature of People  Many “Talks the talk but don’t walk the walk”Who currently cares about this? Procurement?Engineering?Maybe just Parker? MacroFab HistoryOriginal MacroFab conceptPivotsChris Church’s “Rules for Start Up Names”What is next? New Head Quarters.

3 Feb 20231h 15min

Breadboarding your circuitsWhy even do it? Time savingsQuick check of your ideasLeave breadboard assembled for future pcbsBreadboards do not break physics - all the same rules applyWhat you put into it you get out Cleanliness mattersPlan out your circuits You will likely find that you do not need extra jumpers if you plan the circuitMeasure and bend leads - 0.1” pitchUse good componentsUse the bus strips for power and groundYou can get away with high voltage if you plan for isolationKeep connections short. If the components can be the connection that is idealFeedback and shorts - keep them shortKnow the limitations - breadboard what you need Breadboards may not be a one stop shop - use them to prove what you need to

29 Jan 20231h

First R2R bill passes and it is…NY gov Kathy Hochul signed into law one of the first R2R billsHochul agreed to sign the bill with some last minute changesHochul wrote in a memo that the legislation, as it was originally drafted, "included technical issues that could put safety and security at risk, as well as heighten the risk of injury from physical repair projects."Changes Stripping requirement for OEMs to provide to the public any passwords, security codes or materials to override security featuresbundle "assemblies of parts" instead of just the specific component actually needed for a DIY repair if "the risk of improper installation heightens the risk of injury."Applies to devices built or sold in New York after july 1stthe bill's revised language excludes enterprise electronics, such as those that schools, hospitals, universities and data centers rely onDesigning new Footprints in the year 2023. Why does this still suck?As Electrical engineers that dabble in mechanical designNew footprints are one of the leading causes of a prototype or first article run going wrongEDA Tools do absolute coordinatesMechanical Tools do “dimensioning”

21 Jan 202349min

Adding Cold Welding Function to any WelderCold spot weld functionMost tig welders interface with a 5 pin foot controller 3 pins for potentiometer - analog signal telling how much amperage2 pin switch for initiating the arcMade a circuit to spoof the footswitch 555 timer to set the duty cycleMonostable modeCapacitively coupled to allow for single button pressesRange: 1ms to 100ms

14 Jan 202349min

Framework, Noctua, and other brands add official 3D models to PrintablesPrusa Research’s “Printables” website added a new section called “Brands”Manufacturers and OEMs can upload verified models for their productsCNC UpdateAll of the fasteners arrive this week along with the aluminum extrusionsBuild weekendDeveloped a 3d printable cable tie for 4040 t-slots 3d prints with planned bending sectionsOther than iteration and experience is there a way to design this?Elastic deformation in the area that we want - avoid plastic deformation on stress-strain curveWill be printing along with the spray system from episode 354The Return of the Cat Feeder UnreminderMAX9019 Comparator OscillatorLow power design considerations Consider every current path for leakage currentSuper Capacitor Leakage Comparison DSF505Q6R0JBG 5F at 6VDC40uA leakageHSL0814-3R8106-R 10F at 3.8VDC 2.0-3.0uA leakageGet the timer working  LTC2956-10.8uAUse the enable output to switch between what segments are being driven on the TN LCDDG419 signal switcher

6 Jan 202359min

Picking a part for your designWhat is your process for selecting a part for your design?What is your preferred method of learning about electronics?How would you make the process of selecting parts for your design easier?The Return of the Cat Feeder UnreminderExperimenting with the AEM10941User Interface changes? Segmented LCD VI-422DPRCSDriver? Need 3VAC - 6VACMade an oscillator with a 4049 hex inverterMore power reduction? CD4047 oscillator, mxshift from slack says it will pull around 20uAComparator in a oscillator configuration, metacollin says ~1uA

31 Dec 202251min

Porsche’s synthetic gasoline factory comes online today in ChileWay back on episode 265 (Feb 2021) we talked about this announcement from Porsche.Production 34,000 gallons (130,000 L) a year14.5 million gallons (55 million L) a year by 2024145 million gallons (550 million L) a year by 2026Wind power to electrolysis water into hydrogen and oxygen The hydrogen is then combined with carbon captured from the air or industrial sources to synthesize methanolThen be converted into longer hydrocarbons to be used as fuelRecycling CO2 in the airIs this the future of current Internal Combustion Engines? Direct drop in for normal gasoline“Carbon Neutral” way to run your classic carChip manufacturing equipment sales record in 2022Record fab constructions have driven total semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales to cross the $100 billion mark for a second straight yearChips Act is $280 billion.  China, Taiwan and Korea are projected to remain the top three destinations for equipment spending in 2022.Most of this money is going towards Wafer Manufacturing Equipment with a focus on wafers for logic / active components like microcontrollersWhy The Computer Company Raspberry Pi’s New Hire Caused A Social Media FirestormHired an ex–police officer, Toby Roberts, as its maker-in-residence. “I was a Technical Surveillance Officer for 15 years, so I built stuff to hide video, audio, and other covert gear”

24 Dec 20221h 4min