Mailbag Monday 176

Is it Monday already? Cool!
Time to grab a drink and see what showed up this time!
Links:
TZT 5pcs Fr4 Pcb 7x10cm 7*10 Single Side Copper Clad Plate Diy Pcb Kit Laminate Circuit Board
pileofstuff.ca/r/uwb20
4s 20a 14.8v 16.8v Li - on Battery Protection Board BMS PCB 18650 protection
pileofstuff.ca/r/utbav
Colour Acrylic Sheet Plate Plastic Craft DIY Panel 8x8/10x20/15x15/20x20/30x40cm
pileofstuff.ca/r/3h2wv
TP4056 5V 1A USB Type-C 18650 Lithium Battery Charging and Protection (search link)
pileofstuff.ca/r/yxi4h
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#ElectronicsCreators
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This isn't the only way to do it.
It's probably not the best way to do it.
But it's how I did it.

[@onecircuit-as]

I remember ordering drawers for electronics storage. Didn’t check the specs. What showed up wouldn’t be out of place in a doll’s house - my wife still chuckles about that purchase. They weren’t cheap either! 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@pileofstuff]

At least this wasn't an especially expensive mistake. This time...

[@markfergerson2145]

@@pileofstuff Looks like those ckt board sheets should fit…

[@ExperimentalElectronics-re9gz]

Step 1 to a bench you can carry in your pocket

[@AnotherMaker]

The drawers cracked me up :-)

[@steubens7]

a plastics supplier that sells offcuts is definitely worth finding locally, they didn't usually advertise, gotta seek them out

[@pileofstuff]

That's what I have been hoping to find.

[@wrxs1781]

Good video to start my day, the beer looks interesting!

[@wallaceshackleton1889]

Another exciting episode of "heck did i buy that!"

[@iowahank1]

Or what the heck did I buy now?

[@ParallelLogic]

6:00 I favor TAP plastics for acrylic - I've used some of their esoteric offerings like semi-transparent white and one-way transparent black

[@sem1ot1c]

Often sign makers have acrylic off cuts that you can get on the cheap.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

are they cast acrylic

[@DustinWatts]

If you use LightBurn for your laser engraver, a quick way to get some good settings for what you want is "Material Test". That will create a speed and power grid letting you quickly find the best settings. Maybe you already are doing this, but just a quick tip! Thanks for the Mailbag 👍🙂

[@tonysheerness2427]

How many times have I bought something on ebay and it turns out much smaller than expected.I never learn.

[@andrewbeasley]

Drawers = Christmas present for someone you do not get along with??? 😮 😢 😊

[@skilfulCOM]

TP4046 project - type C does not work on smart chargers - needs 2x 5.1k resistors. I am about to start - looks a pain - will wait for you to get some ideas. ;)

[@ericblenner-hassett3945]

You may want to try a jiffy marker on the boards and see if slower speed and longer time while doing 80% power works for the laser to remove the copper. Remember to get good ventilation when cutting plastics with a laser as most will give off toxic fumes and also will damage the laser lens over time if it is not vacuumed away as it is cutting.

[@pileofstuff]

I've tried a couple of brands. One smeared when I was cleaning off the char, and one dissolved in the etch. Experiments continue

[@griftereck]

so you race the copper clad boards. I wonder if the betting shop would take a bet on that

[@RambozoClown]

Ben Heck had a video on the laser paint PCB process. Basically, paint the board, laser off the paint, etch.

[@pileofstuff]

That's the short version. The longer version includes learning CAD, getting the power setting s right so you get down to the copper without burning too wide a line (or melting paint adjacent to your trace), cleaning off the charred paint remnants so the etchant can get at the copper without also removing the parts you want to keep...

[@RambozoClown]

@@pileofstuff I know, I just mentioned it to shorten the learning curve. They went into details and pitfalls before they got it down. I do remember the paint used was picky, some brands, were great and others not.

[@pileofstuff]

@@RambozoClown Exactly. Despite seeing several people having done it, most of them seem to have glossed over one or another of those sort of details. it's taking a lot more attempts for me to find a combination that works consistently enough to be comfortable to make a video about it.

[@iowahank1]

That leaf on the top of the drawers is a marijuana leaf. Must be for storing your drug supplies.

[@pileofstuff]

"A lot of people don't know this, but... you can put your weeed in there"

[@Aeidotronics]

Japanese Maple leaf 😄

[@glowytheglowbug]

6:33 nooo the zip lock XDDD

[@pileofstuff]

😁

[@glowytheglowbug]

@@pileofstuff the chinese ziplock didnt deserve thattt XD

[@GnuReligion]

Does the 4-cell BMS do balance charging, or just under-voltage protection for discharging?

[@pileofstuff]

It appears to do balancing, but I'll need to test it to be certain.

[@quandiy5164]

I have a 5w laser and it cuts black acrylic just fine up to 6mm thick. I also have a 10w head (12w measured) and it cuts faster but the kerf seems to be wider, I haven't used it as much though. Your 40w machine should have no problems just use air assist and lots of ventilation. I built a cabinet to fully enclose mine with an orange tinted front window so I can see what's happening without needing safety goggles.

[@pileofstuff]

My laser is 22 watts, and it claims to be able to do black acrylic. I'll find out if that claim is true soon.

[@quandiy5164]

@@pileofstuff ah I must've misheard in the video. Still plenty of power though. If you want to know the power and speeds I use as a starting point let me know. I regularly cut and engrave black acrylic for my prototype cases I also use lasergrbl for the software

[@patprop74]

If that black acrylic works out for you, let me know I have a full sheet of it I could cut down to size and easily match the price you paid.

[@SaschaGrant]

if you leave the protective sheet on, you'll get a better result with the engrave. Also, after engraving, you can spraypaint the acrylic and then remove the protective sheet, leaving only the engraved areas coloured :)

[@AnotherMaker]

Normally the cast acrylic stuff that you laser through as a paper protective layer on it. That looked a little bit more like plastic to me. That's usually plexiglass.

[@SaschaGrant]

@@AnotherMaker I've had both. But worth checking. You can also remove the plastic and apply paper 'app tape' that vinyl cutters use.

[@quandiy5164]

I only get the paper version over here. I find the engraving looks better if I remove the paper cover before engraving. Also is a pain to remove the tiny leftovers of paper after.

[@TheSonofruss]

That small drawer could be useful for holding printer parts

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

I use mine for adapters, usb to c, sd cards, etc.

[@robertbutler4393]

For laser consumables, Julie Lawrie at Costar Designs in Mount Forest, Ontario is one of the best. Prices and service are great. Lots of very satisfied clients.

[@canaduino]

You are back?! Congratulations! If you need some stuff to review it, let me know ;-)

[@pileofstuff]

Hi Volker. HI wasn't going to bother you until after you'd got settled in fro the move.

[@rtdg4419]

For inexpensive clear acrylic material consider cheap picture frames.

[@pileofstuff]

I don't think this laser is powerful enough to cut clear acrylic. It only claims to be able to work on dark colours that won't simply pass the light through.

[@pmacgowan]

Love the large box with small board inside, surly they lost $ on that deal ???

[@iowahank1]

They make up for it in volume.

[@pileofstuff]

That probably explains why some other auctions I put low-ball bids for got "cancelled" before the auction end date.

[@pmacgowan]

Volume of the boxes by the look of it ;-) @@iowahank1

[@SymbolTech21]

I have a question, what happened to your model railway?

[@pileofstuff]

It's still there. Just don't have a lot of extra time to spend on it.

[@SymbolTech21]

@@pileofstuff I asked because you have arduinos and you can definitely make with sensors and some codes on Arduino the trains to run and stops to stations without you to control the trains

[@SidneyCritic]

I got like # 69 - lol -.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

DOOOOOOOOOOOOD………………….

[@tinygriffy]

I don't think the PCB's are a good price... for a couple bucks more you can get a 20cmx20cm high quality name brand double sided photo resist PCB clad in the electronics store "around the corner " .. and when i comes to PCB clad I had my fair share of garbage, I went very quick to buying the best base material I could find.. even for experiments .. I am thrilled though to see how this works out with the laser.. The BMS would be a nice thing to reverse engineer a little.. ^^ and I don't think the 4056 usb-c single cell charger puts out 5V .. you'd need an extra module for this.. btw. I had a couple of these DOA in the past 2 years... faulty 4056, just swap with a god one. thanks for the mailbag !!

[@pileofstuff]

Electronics store "around the corner"... Do those even exist any more?

[@tinygriffy]

@@pileofstuff At least here in Germany. Conrad, Pollin, Reichelt to name a few.. they deliver too, so "around the corner" ;) I used Bungard PCB clad with pre-applied photoresist with good results. Marco Reps made a couple Videos about this topic, maybe worth a look.