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My first PCB

What is this?

tfg_banner.webp

In this project, I designed a printed circuit board (PCB) centered around a PSoC microcontroller. The microcontroller manages data acquisition via a Direct Interface Connection (DIC) conditioning circuit, enabling the system to capture inputs from 30 resistive touch sensors. The processed data is transmitted to a computer in real time using the UART communication protocol.

Key Achievements:

  1. Designed and manufacturing a PCB for data acquisition from resistive tactile sensors integrated into a robotic manipulator’s gripper. This involved full process design, including component selection, material procurement, and PCB trace routing, it incorporated a PSoC in a QFN package.
  2. Developed a master-slave architecture in C for ARM, collecting data from multiple sensors via SPI and UART communication, with debugging facilitated by LabView.

Characteristics

  • Microcontroller
    • Core model: PSoC CY8C4248LTI-L485 (QFN package).
    • Operating frequency: 24 MHz (minimum).
    • Programming interface: Serial Wire Debug (SWD).
  • PCB Specifications
    • Layer stackup: 4 layers (Top, Ground plane, Power plane [split into analog/digital/I/O sections], Bottom).
    • Dimensions: 35 mm × 35 mm (±3% tolerance).
    • Assembly: SMD/SMT components only.
  • I/O & Connectivity
    • 7 general-purpose GPIO pins.
    • Communication protocols: UART, I2C, SPI.
    • Dedicated sensor interface: 33 pins (30 for resistive touch sensors, 2 for calibration resistors, 1 for filter capacitor).
  • Power
    • Supply voltage: 3.3 V DC.

Testing

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Results

  1. Mechatronic System Integration
  2. Full-Cycle Electronics Development: Delivered a complete design including a bill of materials (BOM), schematic design, and PCB layout.
  3. High-Frequency Sensor Measurement: Achieved touch sensor sampling at 50 Hz for responsive data acquisition.
  4. SPI-Based Master-Slave Architecture: Implemented a multi-node communication system using SPI protocol to collect sensor data from multiple sections of a robotic gripper.
  5. Sensor Characterization: Conducted performance analysis and calibration of resistive touch sensors.
  6. LabVIEW Data Interface: Developed a LabVIEW program for real-time data visualization, analysis, and storage.

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