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Archive for the ‘printed circuit’ Category

Calendar Icon   Monday, March 12th, 2012

Inside the iPhone

If you’ve ever wondered what the inside of your iPhone looks like then have a look at this BBC video about ‘Patent wars: Stripping the iPhone bare’ to see its printed circuits laid bare for all to see.

 

The video details the ‘patent wars’ that are still ongoing between the largest companies responsible for the most popular smartphones from Apple, Motorola Mobility and Samsung.

 

One such patent that is being fought for is the way that you unlock your phone. iPhone users slide their finger across the phone and other companies, such as Samsung, followed suit and its these kinds of patents which mean there can be around 15,000 different ones for each phone. A current battle between Apple and Motorola doesn’t involve any patents regarding the printed circuits or processors but the middleware that is on the phone.

 

It’s an interesting video to see the small circuitry and boards that are featured in the iPhone so definitely worth a look.

Posted in electronic manufacture, printed circuit | No Comments »

Calendar Icon   Friday, January 20th, 2012

Video Game Controllers Dismantled

Have you ever been playing a video game and wondered how pressing a button on the controller in your hand can make the character on screen perform a certain action? Whether it’s the 16 bit glory days of the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo (SNES) or the advanced powerful machines of today such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, people have been enjoying playing video games for years. The electronic manufacture involved in designing and producing the different controllers over the years has greatly improved as more buttons are included and different input methods are designed. Here’s a look at how video game controllers work and images of old dismantled controllers so you can see the PCB, circuitry and other parts that are contained within the plastic casings of some of our favourite game controllers.

 

SNES controller pcb

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) controller

pcb from playstation

Sony PlayStation 3 controller

pcb from wii remote

Nintendo Wii remote PCB

pcb for xbox360

Microsoft XBox 360 controller

 

The buttons and sticks on the outside of the controller are what the user presses to make their character jump, kick a ball, fire a gun or accelerate on screen. The microprocessor communicates with the console to turn these instructions into onscreen actions but it’s the communication between the microprocessor and the PCB that lets the processor know which button is being pressed.

 

Changes to the circuit board are made as the different buttons or control sticks are pressed or moved, which controls the flow of electricity. So when you press the A button on the outside of a controller to make your character jump, the button inside presses a rubber dome switch onto the PCB and completes the circuit, informs the processor which circuits are complete and therefore knows which button has been pressed. To put it simply, the circuits are either open or closed.

 

So next time you are making Mario jump on a Koopa Troopa or reloading your gun as you prepare to storm a compound in Modern Warefare, now you know how the controller in your hands is telling the onscreen character what to do, and it’s all because of the PCB.

Posted in Fun, Interesting, printed circuit, Printed Circuit Boards | No Comments »

Calendar Icon   Friday, December 9th, 2011

PCBTrain Fast PCB turnaround

Did you know about PCBTrain’s 1 day express turnaround service? If you are fast in need of printed circuits then we offer a service for the prototyping of PCBs that can be shipped by the following day of your order being placed.  There are of course certain limitations placed on this service which are detailed below:

 

The PCBs supplied will be 2 layer 1.6 mm Fr4 PTH, 1oz copper finished thickness, immersion silver finish without solder resists, legends, or electrical test.

 

Prices will be based on dimensions per circuit.

 

Multi-circuit panels made of different circuits are not unfortunately included in the PCB Train Express service.

 

Single sided circuits are supplied using the PTH process manufacturing process.

 

PCBs are supplied as single a PCB circuit only.

 

Minimum measurements include track and gap at 0.2 mm, CNC drill size at 0.50mm and the maximum CNC drill size at 6.5 mm.

 

Profiles must be created with a single continuous line and are cut with a 2.00 mm diameter router as a simple single pass.

 

If you are looking to utilise the fast turnaround service then your PCB circuit order must be received by midday on a working day. For more information get in touch with PCBTrain now.

Posted in printed circuit, Printed Circuit Boards | No Comments »

Calendar Icon   Monday, November 21st, 2011

Removing and Recycling PCBs

Since printed circuit boards (PCBs) are found in almost every single electronic device, from a DVD player or digital camera to video game consoles and the latest electronic toys, there are many PCBs out there. Although many of these items are simply binned, parts from them can all be recycled and used in various other ways. This is true of any printed circuit parts that have been used in these devices and recycling them is a fairly easy process.

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Posted in Interesting, printed circuit | No Comments »

Calendar Icon   Friday, August 26th, 2011

The Printed Circuit

For a Friday afternoon we thought we would do a nice easy blog to simply talk about a printed circuit and what it is.

 

 

Close up of a printed circuit

 

A printed circuit is an electrical device in which the wiring and certain parts are positioned in a predetermined pattern and includes a thin coat of electrically conductive material on an insulating substrate. Printed circuits replaced the conventional wiring method after World War II in a large amount of electronic equipment which helped to greatly reduce the size and weight of equipment whilst improving its reliability. They are commonly used to mount integrated circuits on boards that are used for computers, televisions and other electronic equipment including toys, radios and telephones. Automated assembly is used to mass produce printed circuit boards, which helps to reduce production costs.

 

Without the reduction in both size and weight of a printed circuit, some of the electronic devices and equipment that we take for granted these days wouldn’t be possible. Without the printed circuit there would be no iPod, smartphones or handheld video games systems since the intricate printed circuit boards that are used to make them work would be too large to fit with the cases.

Posted in printed circuit, Printed Circuit Boards | No Comments »