Order a Pcb

Custom Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)

In this course, you will be creating and ordering a PCB to use in your project. The primary method for ordering PCBs is to order them through PCBWay. With the help of your TA, you can order a simple, 2-layer, 100mm x 100mm PCB through PCBWay at no cost to you. This PCB will simply be fabricated, as opposed to assembled, so a major portion of this class will be soldering and assembling the PCB you order. This means that you will need to source your components either through the course or other means. See the getting parts page for more details.

Alternatively, you can order a PCB from any outside vendor (including PCBWay) and pay for the cost of the board out of pocket. By paying for a PCB yourself, you are not required to meet the deadlines imposed by the course and can sometimes get your board more quickly.

In rare cases, some teams will be allowed to order PCBs through the Electronics Services Shop in ECEB. If you have need of special board layouts or require a PCB very early in the semester, please discuss this option with your TA as early as possible.

PCBway Orders Through the Course

Orders through PCBway can be submitted and paid for by the ECE department with the help of your TA. Orders will be uploaded to PCBway by your TA and paid for on the dates listed on the course calendar. Please note that the PCBway orders will not be manufactured or shipped until they are paid for so please be aware of the lag time between order submission and payment. In addition, your order must pass PCBway's audit before the payment date for your order to be processed. In order to help students pass audit more quickly, we have provided a DRC file that can be imported in to EagleCAD to verify that your board meets PCBway's capabilities. Passing the DRC does not guarantee that your board will pass audit but it does greatly increase the probability of that event.

Electronic Services Shop

Orders placed through the Electronic Services Shop will require TA approval so please discuss with your TA before contacting the Services Shop. The software most commonly used is EagleCAD. Contact a technician in the Electronic Services Shop with questions.

Please be aware of the PCB deadlines posted on the course calendar. If you are unable to meet these deadlines, you will not be able to order a PCB through the the Electronic Services Shop. You will still be able to order PCBs through third party vendors, just be aware that rushed orders can become expensive.

Commercial quality boards

The most commonly used programs for board layout are Eagle and Orcad Layout. The two software packages below allow a schematic to be drawn and translated into a board layout.

Once the board has been laid out, some companies will manufacture small quantities for a very reasonable price.

Economic Overnight Outlet

Chester Hall, Sabrina Moheydeen, Jarad Prill

Featured Project

**Team**

- Chester Hall (chall28), Sabrina Moheydeen (sabrina7), Jarad Prill (jaradjp2)

**Title**

- Economic Overnight Outlet

**Problem**

- Real-time pricing in ISOs, such as the Midwest, California, New England, and New York, provides differentials in electricity prices throughout the day that can be taken advantage of. The peak price of electricity compared to the minimum prices can feature variations of up to 70%. With price agnostic charging, this results in unnecessary costs for those who charge devices (see attached spreadsheet). This same principle can thus be scaled for large commercialized applications requiring high-capacity batteries, resulting in a higher savings potential to be taken advantage of.

- Calcs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JBzt2xm0Ue4a_teosdak623h0zSP5nHRKi7Wi8rMcPo/edit?usp=sharing

**Solution Overview**

- We will create a device that can fetch real-time prices from regional ISOs and enable charging when prices are lowest. Our primary application will be centered towards warehouse electric vehicles using high-capacity, fast-charging lithium ion batteries. Such vehicles include forklifts, cleaning machines, and golf carts.

**Solution Components**

- [ISO LMP API] - Through use of a WiFi-enabled microcontroller we can fetch real-time prices and build our control system around these values.

- [Passive High Performance Protection] - In order to provide downstream safety to the loads, we will ensure the device features surge protection and is rated for the high current of fast charging. The switching of the connection will be done with a contactor whose coil is energized according to the microcontroller.

- [Device Display] - LCD display to show information about the current energy price and the current day’s savings.

- [Manual User Override] - The device will feature a manual toggle switch to either enable or disable the cost-optimized charging feature allowing users to charge loads at any time, not necessarily the cheapest.

- [User Interface] - Software application to allow for user input regarding the time of day the device must be charged by. The application will also display information about total savings per week, month, or year and savings over the device’s lifetime.

- [Control Power Converter] - In order to run the low voltage control systems from the outlet, either 120VAC or 3-phase 480VAC, we will need to step this down to a low DC voltage of around 3.3VDC.

- [Memory System] - Microcontroller capable of performing control function within user specified parameters.

- [Device Connection] - Connectivity to the battery of the device being charged so that current state of charge (SoC) information can be used. Potential experimental filter algorithms will be used in order to estimate the SoC automatically, without requiring the user to input the specific data of the device being used.

**Criterion for Success**

- Able to charge devices at lowest cost times of the day and display current pricing and savings information. The upfront cost of a large-scale reproducible product must be less than the lifetime savings incurred by purchasing the product. Users without an engineering background can easily analyze their savings to visually recognize the device’s benefit.