Projects

This project is a part of Georgia Tech’s HyTech Racing team’s onboarding project for new members. The goal of this project was to design and assemble a compact printed circuit board (PCB) that mimics the actual vehicle’s Ready to Move (RTM) flashing amber light. Working on this project was my first experience working with PCB layouts, the Altium workspace, and soldering. More specifically, this project built my foundational skills with learning to read and create schematics, placing and routing components, and fixing accidental bridging in the soldering process. 

The PCB layout was meant to be in the shape of the HyTech Racing team’s logo, with the 6 LEDs making up the plus (+) and minus (-) signs on the front. Specifically, 4 LEDs for the plus sign and 2 LEDs for the minus sign. The remaining components were placed on the backside of the PCB, with appropriate holes connecting the front and back sides for the LEDs. The USB-C was placed at the top of the board, with trace lengths as short as possible with ample spacing from the edge of the board. The final PCB and schematic were then checked and approved by upperclassmen in the club. 

After finalizing the PCB layout, we received the physical boards and the components. The first part of assembly consisted of aligning a stencil over the PCB and applying solder paste into the gaps to cover the pads. To ensure that the stencil was properly aligned and did not move around, we used a clamp. While applying the paste onto the stencil, I also had to be sure not to press down too hard or use too much paste. Especially since the pads and components are extremely small and close together, we wanted to avoid as much bridging as possible. After removing the stencil, I used tweezers to place every component in their appropriate location except for the LEDs (since those are on the other side of the PCB). The board was then heated in a reflow oven. Afterwards, I noticed bridging between a few pads in my USB-C component. To correct this, I used a fine-tip soldering iron in combination with a copper wick and flux, periodically checking the status under a microscope. Finally, I used the same fine-tip soldering iron and wire solder to connect the LEDs to the front of the PCB.

Using a ball chain through the hole in the PCB, I turned the PCB into a keychain and it was complete. This project introduced me to the complete PCB workflow. With help from the many upperclassmen leads on the club, I gained practical experience in Altium and soldering of parts. Overall, this project strengthened my confidence working with electronics and helped me prepare to work on larger projects for HyTech Racing.