This year has seen a range of interesting products on display such as latex clothing that utilises neuro-technology to light up depending on the wearer’s level of concentration. There have been many executive toys on show to assist in transport, such as the solowheel which is going to retail at a bank breaking £1,899 and reaches speeds of 12mph and SpinKix which travel at a slightly less 8mph but cost a lot less. As well as new technology there are also improvements on existing tech such as cameras with improved capabilities.

A great technology on display from electronic manufacture giant LG is their dual play technology for use with games and their 3D TVs. The tech works by splitting the 3D imagery from the TV into two separate images and comes supplied with two sets of glasses. The glasses show the different images from the screen, so one player sees his screen and the other sees theirs. This allows multiplayer gaming to take place without players cheating and seeing the other players screen. Brilliant.

img src: pcadvisor.co.uk

LG revealed that they are now moving ahead with mass production of flexible plastic e-paper displays. The device measures 6inches and features a 1024 x 768 display, weighing in at just 14g. One of the biggest drawbacks though is that the screen is monochrome.

So what are LG hoping to achieve with this flexible black and white device? Well they hope it will help to further improve and popularise the electronic-book market with a lighter and thinner alternative to large E-readers such as the Kindle and Kobo. Whether this flexible technology will take off is yet to be seen but if the technology develops to point when you can simply roll up a digital display and place it in your pocket then it will be very useful to many people.

People are very fanatical when it comes to Apple products and the first person to buy one at the London Regent Street stored queued for five days to ensure he’d be the first to get his hands on one. Not everyone queuing to simply own their own iPad though. A woman in America was queuing with the intention of selling her space for $1000. The gadget site ifixit.com flew to Australia to take advantage of the difference in time zones and get their very own iPad. Their purpose was different to others though as they didn’t even turn it on. Straight away they took a screwdriver to it to have a look at the insides and view the processors, circuit board surface mount technology and all the other parts that make up the New iPad.

source: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-3-4G-Teardown/8277/1

For those who are using the product the way it was intended, the improved screen is getting rave reviews with it being described as “It’s stunning. It’s incredible” and “It has the most spectacular display I have ever seen in a mobile device”. I’m looking forward to setting my eyes on one soon.

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.

It has been reported that small robotic nano quadrotors, that are small miniature helicopters are being developed and this will revolutionise warfare. The small helicopters have 4 propellers, and although still in their infancy stage, have been extensively trialled in carrying items and also in the ability to manoeuvre through small gaps.

They are not much bigger than a hand and this will make them harder to spot and with the ability to perform a figure of 8 without bumping into each other there may well be an opportunity for the robotic nano quadrotors to perform in various situations outside, although this has not yet been tested.

These devices show that the printed circuit board and the advancement of electronic manufacture is there in every part of our lives and that technology can aid troops on the front line.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) controller

Sony PlayStation 3 controller

Nintendo Wii remote PCB

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.

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.

To recycle PCBs you will need different size pliers for the range of sized components, soldering iron, vice grip, something to put your components in and although not essential you may find a desoldering pump useful. To break down the components of your printed circuit, place it in the vice grip and begin to remove the different components using suitably sized pliers and the soldering iron. Hold the component you want with the pliers and use the soldering iron to remove the solder on the other side. If you continue this process for all components on the printed circuit board then you should end up with a lot of components that can be recycled and used again for various uses.

Some of the items you will remove could include capacitors, switches, resistors, LEDs, transistors, motor and screws, all of which can be used in future projects. The components you can recycle from old electronic devices doesn’t end with the printed circuit, and plastic or metal cases can be recycled wither in future projects or if you have no use for them then you can take them to the local recycling boxes.

If you need help in identifying the different elements of a printed circuit, then have a look at this useful Wikipedia page on electronic components.

Printed circuit boards are used in just about every electronic appliance that you have in your home such as computers, TVs, digital clocks, microwaves and mobile phones. Since technology is always being improved, printed circuits will evolve even further in the future. Because of this and the fact that it’s a Friday, we thought we’d take a fun look at our top five movie robots that are probably made up of hundreds if not thousands of wires, circuits and boards.

C-3PO and R2-D2

One a protocol droid designed to serve humans, the other an astromech droid, these famous robots from the Star Wars saga are two of the most instantly recognisable robots from film. During the production of the six movies, the character of R2-D2 was portrayed by both an actor in a suit and also remote controlled versions. C-3PO was played by an actor in a suit for the original trilogy and then a skeletal model was puppeteered for the newer films.

Wall-E

The cute robot from the animated film by Pixar is a simple looking robot with the sole purpose being to clean up the planet. Compared to the other high-tech robot EVE from the film, who looks like was designed by Apple, Wall-E is a very ‘old-school’ looking robot with simple robotic parts.

Optimus Prime

From the world of the Tranformers, Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, a group of robots that came to Earth from another universe and adopt the disguises of various Earth vehicles and machines to protect it against the evil Decepticons. The ability to transform into different objects earned the Transformers the nickname of ‘robots in disguise’ but the ability for circuit boards technology to transform into other objects is most likely something that will stay within the realms of movies though.

Johnny 5

“Johnny 5 is alive!” The living robot from the two Short Circuit movies, and the upcoming remake, adopted the name Johnny, although his real name is Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport (SAINT) 5. Conceived as a real life robot, the look of Johnny 5 is the one with the most exposed circuit boards and wiring. This doesn’t stop him being a great robot though and the film is still enjoyable to watch even 25 years after its release.

Terminator

The Terminator from the film of the same name is the most lifelike on the list, being a humanoid autonomous robot. The circuit boards used to create the CPUs used in the Terminators are described as superconducting artificial neural networks with the ability to learn. There have been various models throughout the film series including the original T-800, the liquid metal T-1000 and the shape shifting T-X.

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.