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Anelok: the post-factual PCB (1/2)

Werner Almesberger werner at almesberger.net
Sun Feb 12 19:25:26 UTC 2017


You have to go with the times. So, instead of a traditional PCB that's
complicated and may not always do what we want, here's the brand-new
post-factual PCB: easy to fabricate, looks appealing, and it's of
course all fake !

The idea is to 3D-print a test PCB to see if it fits properly in the
case. But we can do better: we can also print any components that
are of interest for mechanical compatibility, and we can print them
as if they were already soldered to that PCB.

This is what it looks like:
http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/anelok/tmp/fake-pcb/pcba.jpg

The picture shows the bottom side, with USB receptacle, memory card
header, and the rfkill switch. Alas, the thin metal sheet (0.2 mm) on
top of the card header didn't want to get printed, so we get an "open"
design.

The top side of this PCB is just flat, keeping the story simple.

Now, let's connect things to it:

http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/anelok/tmp/fake-pcb/connected.jpg

While the memory card header isn't entirely accurate, it is strong
enough to convincingly hold a memory card. The piece of plastic below
the memory card, slightly askew, is a knob that goes over the knob of
the rfkill switch.

If we put all this into the current version of the Anelok case (still
work in progress), it looks like this:

http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/anelok/tmp/fake-pcb/installed.jpg

This already helped to reveal a number of issues. More about them in
the next post.

- Werner



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