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GMU:Printed Circuit Board Art/mxkllmnn (view source)
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Within tech culture, learning new skills usually starts with a so-called "hello world!" example. By accident there has been a sketch of a unicorn on my desktop when we started working on our very first PCB. So that unicorn happened to be the artwork template. | Within tech culture, learning new skills usually starts with a so-called "hello world!" example. By accident there has been a sketch of a unicorn on my desktop when we started working on our very first PCB. So that unicorn happened to be the artwork template. | ||
[[File:unicorn_original_new.png| | [[File:unicorn_original_new.png|800px]] | ||
It turned out to be a sophisticated application that was ideal for finding out how to create edge cuts, screen printing and mask layers in KiCAD. The initial circuit diagram was a luminous LED. | It turned out to be a sophisticated application that was ideal for finding out how to create edge cuts, screen printing and mask layers in KiCAD. The initial circuit diagram was a luminous LED. | ||
I can hardly imagine a better „hello world of PCB design/art“. | I can hardly imagine a better „hello world of PCB design/art“. | ||
[[File:unicorn_render.png|800px]] | |||
'''Theme to be found:''' | '''Theme to be found:''' | ||
The unicorn also led to my first project idea: Adaptors. That is because modern (read: Apple) computers (mine included) exist in a dream world where all its peripherals work with USB type C, whereas I find myself in the reality of 2022, where they do not. Everywhere I go I have to take many different adaptors to make my computer (that obviously supports USB type C only) work. So the idea was to have a unicorn (read: Swiss Army knife) to help out. [[File:swinehorn_original. | The unicorn also led to my first project idea: Adaptors. That is because modern (read: Apple) computers (mine included) exist in a dream world where all its peripherals work with USB type C, whereas I find myself in the reality of 2022, where they do not. Everywhere I go I have to take many different adaptors to make my computer (that obviously supports USB type C only) work. So the idea was to have a unicorn (read: Swiss Army knife) to help out. [[File:swinehorn_original.png|800px]] | ||
Unfortunately, when I tore down one of the adaptors available at the local electronics market, I found <I>myself</i> in a dream world. This time I realized that I do not have the electrical engineering degree I needed to understand the not-as-easy-as-I-thought circuitry of connecting different interface systems (HDMI/SD/Audio Jack/USB-A to USB-C). Even though it seems rather simple to transmit signals through copper traces, many components are necessary in between, if their ends do not speak the same language. From the picture one can see that there is at least one IC per interface, as well as quartz to translate between signals of different frequencies, not to speak of numerous capacitors, resistors, and regulators. So I started all over again. | Unfortunately, when I tore down one of the adaptors available at the local electronics market, I found <I>myself</i> in a dream world. This time I realized that I do not have the electrical engineering degree I needed to understand the not-as-easy-as-I-thought circuitry of connecting different interface systems (HDMI/SD/Audio Jack/USB-A to USB-C). Even though it seems rather simple to transmit signals through copper traces, many components are necessary in between, if their ends do not speak the same language. From the picture one can see that there is at least one IC per interface, as well as quartz to translate between signals of different frequencies, not to speak of numerous capacitors, resistors, and regulators. So I started all over again. | ||