Circuit Break Podcast #301

Crispy Currents

The engineering mind.

Related Topics
Wanting to be a Wizard - Matt Brown

Matt Brown, shares his career insights, including his experiences working at Tesla and on personal projects like the land speed car and the off-road Viper.

Exploring the Arctic Through Art and Technology with Cy Keener

Cy Keener's work includes a range of data-based efforts to visualize diverse phenomena including ice, wind, rain, and ocean waves.

Embarrassingly Parallel Computing - Steve Furber

Steve Furber, Prof Emeritus at Univ of Manchester, discusses BBC Micro and SpiNNaker project modeling brain functions with a million ARM processors.

Other Resources

Circuit Break Podcast
Webinars
Videos
Tour MacroFab's ITAR-Compliant Facility

November 3, 2021, Episode #301

If you are currently enrolled in college we would love to chat with you. We have some ideas for future podcast content that you could perhaps help us with. Also, we would love to get to know our listeners more. If you have not already, please send a hello email to podcast@macrofab.com. Thanks to everyone who has reached out already. On Nov 6th, Parker is doing a 24-hour video game stream for the Extra Life Charity which benefits the Texas Children Hospital network. Last year our listeners helped him raise $2600 and he is hoping to double that this year! You can donate through the Extra Life page or just come hang out his personal twitch channel and chat. Will be playing from 8AM on Nov 6th till 8AM on Nov 7th.

Melted fuse Holder Revisit

  • Fuse holder on the electric fan power line melted… on the battery side *insert shock emoji*
  • EngineerBob from Slack/twitch chat bought the same kind of fuse holders and took one apart
  • Suspected it was not a bad crimp but the blade receptacle inside is flawed for higher currents
    • Connector is just flimsy brass and does not have the retainment force to handle high current
  • Some google fu searching and EngineerBob and I found a solution!
    • Delphi makes a fuse holder setup based on the Metri-Pack system
      • Delphi 12033731 black fuse cover
      • Metri-Pack 630 series connector
        • 20-18 AWG 12066681
        • 16-14 AWG 12033769
        • 12-10 AWG 12085030
      • Metri-Pack 630 series pull-to-seat female terminals
        • 20-18 AWG 12020516-L
        • 16-14 AWG 12066614-L
        • 12-10 AWG 12033997-L

Getting Signals Around the Board

  • DG series analog switches
  • Multi Channel (1 to 8) switches that handle high voltage (44v)
  • Easily controlled with TTL signals. Can be interfaced directly to a uC
  • Bi directional
  • Remove the need for mechanical solutions and greatly simplify routing
  • Resistance ON is something to look out for

The Engineering Mind?

  • Should we expect others to have it?
  • Problems in the workplace – how are they fixed?
  • What do you do when faced with a problem?
    • Hire engineers?
    • Get it done attitude?

About the Hosts

Parker Dillmann
  Parker Dillmann

Parker is an Electrical Engineer with backgrounds in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing. He got his start in 2005 by hacking Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year he designed and produced an Atari 2600 video mod to allow the Atari to display a crisp, RF fuzz free picture on newer TVs. Over a thousand Atari video mods where produced by Parker from 2006 to 2011 and the mod is still made by other enthusiasts in the Atari community.

In 2006, Parker enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin as a Petroleum Engineer. After realizing electronics was his passion he switched majors in 2007 to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Following his previous background in making the Atari 2600 video mod, Parker decided to take more board layout classes and circuit design classes. Other areas of study include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, FPGA development with VHDL and Verilog, and image and signal processing with DSPs. In 2010, Parker won a Ti sponsored Launchpad programming and design contest that was held by the IEEE CS chapter at the University. Parker graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Spring of 2012.

In the Summer of 2012, Parker was hired on as an Electrical Engineer at Dynamic Perception to design and prototype new electronic products. Here, Parker learned about full product development cycles and honed his board layout skills. Seeing the difficulties in managing operations and FCC/CE compliance testing, Parker thought there had to be a better way for small electronic companies to get their product out in customer's hands.

Parker also runs the blog, longhornengineer.com, where he posts his personal projects, technical guides, and appnotes about board layout design and components.

Stephen Kraig
  Stephen Kraig

Stephen Kraig is a component engineer working in the aerospace industry. He has applied his electrical engineering knowledge in a variety of contexts previously, including oil and gas, contract manufacturing, audio electronic repair, and synthesizer design. A graduate of Texas A&M, Stephen has lived his adult life in the Houston, TX, and Denver, CO, areas.

Stephen has never said no to a project. From building guitar amps (starting when he was 17) to designing and building his own CNC table to fine-tuning the mineral composition of the water he uses to brew beer, he thrives on testing, experimentation, and problem-solving. Tune into the podcast to learn more about the wacky stuff Stephen gets up to.

Credits

Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

Related Podcasts

CB FI 441

Exploring the Arctic Through Art and Technology with Cy Keener

Cy Keener's work includes a range of data-based efforts to visualize diverse phenomena including ice, wind, rain, and ocean waves.

CB FI 435

Prioritize to Learn to Prioritize - Engineering Career Paths

Special guests Chris Gammell and James Lewis, discuss various aspects of engineering career paths.

Batman king edc

Batman, The King of EDC (Every Day Carry)

Delve into the fascinating world of Batman's utility belt. Tracing the evolution from its humble origins to its current complex design.

CB FI 437

Embarrassingly Parallel Computing - Steve Furber

Steve Furber, Prof Emeritus at Univ of Manchester, discusses BBC Micro and SpiNNaker project modeling brain functions with a million ARM processors.

CB FI 442

Wanting to be a Wizard - Matt Brown

Matt Brown, shares his career insights, including his experiences working at Tesla and on personal projects like the land speed car and the off-road Viper.

CB FI 436

International Women in Engineering Day

Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day with MacroFab's Kaylan Smith and Laura Manley discussing their journeys into engineering.

About MacroFab

MacroFab offers comprehensive manufacturing solutions, from your smallest prototyping orders to your largest production needs. Our factory network locations are strategically located across North America, ensuring that we have the flexibility to provide capacity when and where you need it most.

Experience the future of EMS manufacturing with our state-of-the-art technology platform and cutting-edge digital supply chain solutions. At MacroFab, we ensure that your electronics are produced faster, more efficiently, and with fewer logistic problems than ever before.

Take advantage of AI-enabled sourcing opportunities and employ expert teams who are connected through a user-friendly technology platform. Discover how streamlined electronics manufacturing can benefit your business by contacting us today.