Do It Yourself
Step 1: Electrical scheme
When starting from scratch you need to make an electrical scheme of the circuit board. For this I used the program MultiSim. Keep in mind that this takes a lot of time and effort doing it correctly and checking for mistakes is a must. If you make a mistake, this will pass through into your final product. To make it easy for you I will offer the Multisim files to download on this website.
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Step 2: PCB design
Step two is making your PCB design from the electrical scheme you just made (or downloaded). The program I used was UltiBoard from the same company as MultiSim, namely National Instruments. To make it easy for you I will offer the Gerber files to download on this website.
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Step 3: Ordering components and PCB
When ready with steps 1 and 2, you can order your parts. You could do it after step 1, but doing it after step 2 makes sure you do not make any changes to your design. The cheapest way to get your components is to get them from China. But bear in mind that the delivery times then are often quite long when ordering. You can find the components I ordered here.
I ordered my PCBs on PCBWAY (1), they offer 'bang for the buck' prototyping PCBs this way you can keep your expenses low*.
*Make sure that your PCB has a maximum size of 100mm by 100mm otherwise you'll pay more!
*Make sure that your PCB has a maximum size of 100mm by 100mm otherwise you'll pay more!
Step 4: Wait & Build
Your orders will get in the mail one by one most likely. Eventually you have everything and then you can start soldering and programming your AtMega328p. From here on it goes fast. After this step you are ready to go. But we will continue with step 5 to make it a real product.
Step 5: Give it a case
To make everything complete we need a case for the WiLeCo. For the initial prototype I did not make a case as I had to had a lot of wires going everywhere due to the PCB error that you can see in my blog. The second prototype with the new PCB got a environmental friendly solution I used the leftover PCBs to make a case. Finally I turned to wood to make a case for the final product at this time. Laser cutting a case is fast, cheap and durable. To make it easy for you I will also offer the files to download.
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