I am new here so thought i would jump in and ask a question re making a PiStorm 32 Lite as released on Github by Claude Shwarz.
Im not terribly experienced with BOMs, CPLs and Gerbers so im struggling to get the files correct for JLCPCB and not entirely sure where i am going wrong. I suspect that the BoM not having a footprint section might be the problem but again, due to my inexperience, im not entirely sure.
Welcome! It’s a wonderful new world we’re in, where not only are PCBs affordable and produced rapidly, but the supplier will also solder in most or all of the components.
I haven’t done this myself, but I see there are instructions and three ready-made files for you here. Have you proceeded by downloading those three files (ps32*.zip, CPL*.csv and BOM*.xls) to your computer and then uploading them at each stage of the JLCPCB process, as described?
(For the uninitiated, PiStorm32-lite describes itself as “An Opensource, Raspberry Pi based, Amiga A1200 Accelerator” and we see in the Amiga wiki “This speeds up the Amiga 1200 by leveraging the Raspberry Pi’s computational power. The Raspberry Pi plugs into the PiStorm and emulates the native 680x0 CPU at much higher performance than the original CPU.”)
Yes, wonderful indeed. My soldering skills are rudimentary to say the least and taking a crack at a project like this would be a challenge that i dont think i would be game enough to surmount.
I did see the instructions and attempted to follow step by step but it seems the problem relates to afew things. Firstly, the BoM and PnP files are in text format,(i couldnt figure out how to download the .csv or .xls files), so I had to migrate this data to excel so that it could be accepted by the website (this much i did manage to do).
I believe that the next problem is relating to the BoM and not having what is referred to as a “footprint” column. This, in my limited understanding, is something to do with the shape and size of the mount on the board where the component will be connected. Im really not sure how to determine or assign each of the components a footprint so I think this is the point where JLCPCB is getting stuck and not letting me proceed.
I am considering contacting customer support at JLCPCB to see if they may be able to guide me through how to amend the BoM and/or the CPL to fix the errors or add the information required.
If anyone does have some advice about how to do this, im all ears. Otherwise, will provide an update once i get it worked out so that anyone with a similar issue in the future has a simplified way of approaching this problem.
Seconding mainframetom: this is not a project for beginners to attempt building. There must be someone selling these assembled, aside from the fact that getting the Raspberry Pi at the board’s heart is still rather difficult.
Most projects that expect you to have the boards fabbed put all the files you need in one zip archive. You upload that to JLCPCB, choose a few options for board finish, and then you get to pay for your boards.
You will still have to solder the edge connectors and some other parts. Chunkier but probably not a starter project either. And debug it if it misbehaves which for a high speed device has quite a learning and tools curve.
I managed to get something to work with the BoM that EdS kindly provided, allbeit without the IC as they did not have this in stock.
So im essentially left with the edge connector to solder and the SMD chip. Jumping in the deep end so to speak but i really want to give this a go so going to try my hand at it and see how i fare. At very least, i do have a good quality soldering station by Hako and an assortment of different soldering tips so i cannot blame my equipment hahahah. Now time to watch a ton of soldering tutorial videos and get some practice in before the board arrives.
A (very) basic advice is to start with the components with the lowest built-height. E.g., first all the passives like resistors and ICs, then any connectors and finally anything that really stands up, like capacitors.
(It’s really just about accessing the components and the board laying somewhat stable on a table. If this is your first project and there are no detailed instruction, considering the order of how to approach things may be worth it.)
The very process of soldering is actually simple: you want to heat the pad and the leg of the component at once, then add solder so that it flows into the hole. But mind to not actually grill your components! Also, wait a second or two, before moving anything after soldering, in order to allow the solder to cool for a nice, conductive joint. (If it turns matt, you may want to reheat/reflow the joint.)
Also, wait a second or two, before moving anything after soldering, in order to allow the solder to cool for a nice, conductive joint. (If it turns matt, you may want to reheat/reflow the joint.)