An interesting video about the Nokia Mechanics Laboratory, which the uploader himself founded.

A 2 × 2 mm BGA, fully fanned out on a single layer, with 50 µm traces running between the pads. PCB fabrication took about 15 minutes, right on my desk. I then assembled it by hand.

Our guaranteed specs are 75 µm traces and 75 µm clearances. This board uses 50 µm traces and clearances down to about 70 µm—a little demonstration of the headroom beyond those specs.

The board also has 1 × 1 mm addressable LEDs with four pads each. PewCB One made the solder-paste stencil too, cutting the openings directly over the PCB pads.

Let me know what you’d like to see tested next.

For more experiments like this and to chat with our team, join our Discord.

More about PewCB One.

This is what rc people in china do for fun

I'm thinking of making this a kickstarter to make these prebuilt cockpits and add them to any rc airplane, just check out my website Longfly.us to let me know if you would like to buy one

And check out more on my instagram @longfly.us

Turbo

Hi everyone! We're developing PewCB, a PCB prototyping machine. The project grew out of our own need to prototype electronics quickly. As soon as we had an early prototype that could make PCBs, we started using it to develop the machine itself.

Here is a story on how we developed one interesting function of PewCB. The machine has a sliding tray on the front, which is used to load PCB blanks. It is actuated by a stepper motor and a lead screw. When the tray is fully closed, we need to apply a specific force to lock it against its stops. We use a spring-loaded nut for this. Once the tray reaches the fully closed position, the motor makes a few extra revolutions, compressing the springs and providing the force needed to hold it against the stops.

To measure deflection, we devised a position sensor made up of a digital magnetometer and three magnets with alternating polarity. When we move the sensor along the magnets, the magnetic vector rotates almost proportionally to the displacement. The sensor picks up even small changes in position with very low latency, so the system can respond quickly to changes in force.

This force sensor also has another use: detecting obstructions. If something gets in the way as the tray is opening or closing, the controller detects it immediately and stops the tray or reverses the movement. Also the entire tray acts as one big button. Instead of aiming at the eject icon on the screen, you can simply push the tray to close it.

By the time we had started developing this subsystem, the key parts of the machine were already working, and we could make boards with it. We prototyped the assembly using 3D printing for the mechanical parts and PewCB for the electronics. We needed to check whether we'd chosen the correct magnetometer sensitivity and magnet size, what signal-to-noise ratio we'd get from the sensor, and whether external interference would have a noticeable effect on the measurements.

The whole process took a few days, but it allowed us to build a production version of the assembly, with an aluminum tray frame and a brass nut, in a single iteration. We got to experience the pure joy of engineering and we wish you feel the same way about your own prototyping endeavors!

For more info about the machine join our Discord or visit our website pewcb.com

Credit u/leblasto

ETH Zurich researchers adapted a commercial robotic hand to crawl using its existing fingers, without adding wheels or legs.

The 818 g setup has 20 powered joints and carries its own battery, computer, and motion sensors. When one finger lifts to take a step or press a key, the others have to support the hand’s weight. The controls were trained in simulation to account for the unequal finger lengths and offset thumb.

They tested it on 14 surfaces, including grass, gravel, carpet, and metal grating. It recovered from falls in 21 of 25 trials and correctly pressed requested keyboard keys in 29 of 32 attempts without visual feedback. A separate object-pushing demonstration uses an overhead camera.

More details: https://www.automate.org/robotics/industry-insights/what-if-thing-from-addams-family-was-actually-a-robot

Snapped this from the platform. These red-hot H-beams just finished rolling, moving onto the cooling bed.

The heat hitting you from here is insane.

There's also an informative write-up of the project, explaining details and the build process: https://www.niklasroy.com/gtc/

Inside Hino truck production in Japan, from precision differential and engine manufacturing to chassis assembly, cab production, final assembly and vehicle inspection.

Watch Collett deliver a 131 Tonne shunt reactor via a beach landing at Black Rock Sands, before transporting and installing the unit at National Grid’s Trawsfynydd Substation.