kicad-developers team mailing list archive

["Lorenzo" <lomarcan@...>]

--- In kicad-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Vesa Solonen <vsolonen@...> wrote:

> all boils down to is, is it economically viable and who is going to say 
> what you do with your property.

My main developing machine at work is a VIA C3/800 running in remote X on a2200 AthlonXP (well, the server has 4GB RAM... the bottleneck is in the drives :()

> gschem and geda pcb? The problems being solved are essentially the same.

I don't follow those two... pcb learning curve is too steep for me (one of the best PCB layout was the old OrCAD PCB386 running under dos... EVERYTHING done with the keyboard... the new Orcads sucks like a whole company making vacuum cleaners :D:D)

> http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimaging/opengl/capabilities/
> It seems there are also some older ones too...

Maybe they are unsupported for the new OS :D:D Remember that Apple SELLS both HW and OS :D

> _without_ ENIG pads. If you can live with ENIG, they may be the cheapest 

Both commercial and hobby standard workflow here in Italy is HASL... of course they can whatever you want, ever electrolytic gold plating :D you only have to pay (and wait 3 days more for the 'special service')

> I've played with some ready made 1.2 MHz ultrasonic fog makers. They make 
> a nice demo with plastic bucket full of water. When you turn the beam 
> towards the plastic edge. Soon there is smoke coming off the lossy plastic 

It's EXACTLY my kind of product... it makes antibacterial fog for car sanitizing :P If/when you see the Henkel Terosept machine, that's my baby :D:D It's fun during burn-in, about 50 fog makers running... you can't see a thing :P

> Sounds like a challenge. There must be a helluva snubber on the relay if 

EPCOS 2J (read a TWO Joules :D) suppression varistors around the relay contact.

> opposite directions (series better) -> inductance cancelled :)

The heater is bought manufactured, I have no idea how it's done inside! ButI tell you, the 6sqmm wires from the heater are not exactly the most handywires to manage :P

> synchronization to zero crossings may also help if relay switching times 
> are well known and stable.

Naaaah... too complicated... it's simply a HUGE automotive relay (rated 70A:D). It's meant to be socketed but we solder directly on board... the power terminal hole are not drilled... they're ROUTED with a cutter (the oblongholes... 1.2mm x 11mm). The only thing is that they have to be plated, so it's extra manufacturing cost: they need to route during the first drill stage, before plating; had they been NPTH holes there would be no extra expense, because they would be routed just before the final cutting/scoring (depending on the paneling).

This remember me... I could REALLY use a NPTH flag for holes :D:D:D

My workflow as of today to work around the issue is this: drill tools are in step of 0.1mm, from 0.5mm up to 6mm (down to 0.2mm on special order, likemicrovias). Well, they are a little bigger because plating fills some space :P 

So I use a 0.05 offset to denote NPTH holes... this way I declare a 3.2mm plated hole as 3.2mm. If I want a NPTH 3.2mm I set 3.25mm; this way pcbnew keep them distinct and I can split the drill tape in before/after plating (removing the 0.05 offset) using a perl script on the excellon file.

I admit that's a HUGE hack but at least it works :D