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Request: Tiny PCB revision that will reduce cost and add functionality?
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:42 pm
by Tmp2k
@Wavicle this looks to be the most common type of 90deg tactile switch:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/tactile-switches/1649475 but it has a different footprint to the standard switch. I can't find any that are the same footprint or direct replacement for a standard tactile switch. They are also single pole.
The LED footprints would need to be rotated 90deg so they are parallel to the edge of the board as that's how the right angle indicators are configured:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pcb-led-indicators/5460463 Hopefully it will be easy enough to change the LED footprints so that they can accept either regular straight, or right-angle variants at the correct distance from the edge of the PCB. You might need to add a second set of footprints in parallel to get the tactile switches working, or replace them with the 90deg version.
Happy to jump on Teams/Meet and discuss further if it helps, feel free to drop me a PM if so. I own a software company and we do the occasional bit of embedded stuff and PCB design, so it's not a million miles away form my day job.
My next question was going to be, once the final board rev is complete, is there any chance of a 3D model with components, a simple STL will do? So we can 3D print one off here and use it to design the case.
Request: Tiny PCB revision that will reduce cost and add functionality?
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 10:03 pm
by Wavicle
On 10/15/2022 at 1:42 PM, Tmp2k said:
@Wavicle this looks to be the most common type of 90deg tactile switch:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/tactile-switches/1649475 but it has a different footprint to the standard switch. I can't find any that are the same footprint or direct replacement for a standard tactile switch. They are also single pole.
The LED footprints would need to be rotated 90deg so they are parallel to the edge of the board as that's how the right angle indicators are configured:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/pcb-led-indicators/5460463 Hopefully it will be easy enough to change the LED footprints so that they can accept either regular straight, or right-angle variants at the correct distance from the edge of the PCB. You might need to add a second set of footprints in parallel to get the tactile switches working, or replace them with the 90deg version.
Happy to jump on Teams/Meet and discuss further if it helps, feel free to drop me a PM if so. I own a software company and we do the occasional bit of embedded stuff and PCB design, so it's not a million miles away form my day job.
My next question was going to be, once the final board rev is complete, is there any chance of a 3D model with components, a simple STL will do? So we can 3D print one off here and use it to design the case.
Using right-angle tactile switch footprints
instead of the vertical footprints is almost certainly a non-option. It looks like the right-angle switches are made by taking the vertical switches and putting them in a metal frame that rotates them horizontally. This is why the footprints are incompatible. It may be possible to create a dual-purposed footprint that could fit either button. E.g. my low effort attempt here:
The official proto3 board has a single LED which is oriented correctly for the right-angle components, it would be a question of spacing.
Not every component is likely to have a 3D model for it (notably the footprint above) so a 3D model for checking your design may be incomplete.
I can't promise anything other than that I will bring up the idea to Kevin and ask him for feedback. He's pretty busy doing his normal day-to-day operations for TexElec, so I don't get feedback for every suggestion, but I will let you know.
Request: Tiny PCB revision that will reduce cost and add functionality?
Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 10:34 pm
by Tmp2k
Thanks that would work great.
I can fill in some of the blanks on the 3D model using individual part models if needed. I've seen a previous render months/years ago that looked fairly accurate and had a lot of the key parts. I'm assuming it was generated from the PCB file as opposed to being drawn from scratch. My plan is to develop a case for as soon after launch as possible. The guy I work with specialises in well-engineered, ultra-compact cases, so we were hoping to put something really nice together. It's not really about making the case as small as possible, but just as efficient as possible.
