Synopsis
A collection of PC hardware projects. It covers: building the digital I/O card; building ComponentLAB; software installation and calibration; ComponentLAB's resistance, voltage and capacitance functions; ComponentLAB's IC testing function; and using the digital I/O card for other purposes.
From the Publisher
Not only build great projects, but improve your elec. bench!
If you have always wanted to work with stepper motors, and need a rig to drill your own PC boards quickly and accurately, get out your soldering iron and follow along in PC Hardware Projects, Volume 2.
Fabricating a printed circuit board (PCB) can be done by a PCB fabrication house, which is too costly for most of us. With access to a CAD or "draw" program and a laser printer, you can lay out and fabricate a professional quality PCB on your PC. Stepper motors are readily available today at relatively low cost, and most of us have a spare PC lying around the house. Put those two together with some very smart software, and you can easily "computerize" your own PCB drilling process!
PC Hardware Projects, Volume 2 discusses stepper motors, how they differ from conventional and servo motors, and how to control them. It investigates different methods to control stepper motors, and provides you with circuitry for a dedicated IC controller and discrete component hardware controller. Then PC Hardware Projects, Volume 2 guides you through every step of the construction process of an automated, PC-controlled PCB drilling machine which can drill as many as 500 holes in a 6" x 8" PCB with excellent repeatability and resolution. With construction completed, you'll then walk through an actual design layout, creating a PC design and board. Finally, you'll see how the drill data file is determined from the layout, and then drill the PCB. With the help of the information and the data file disk included with PC Hardware Projects, Volume 2, you'll have transformed your PC into your very own PCB fabrication house!
Chapter 1: Making Things Move
Chapter 2: Controlling Stepper Motors
Chapter 3: Getting the Parts Together
Chapter 4: Building the Case and Base
Chapter 5: Building the Electronics
Chapter 6: Building the Table Assembly
Chapter 7: Building the Drill Assembly
Chapter 8: Wrapping Up Construction
Chapter 9: Using Auto-XY to Fabricate a PC Board
Chapter 10: The Software
Chapter 11: The Control Electronics and Power Supply
Chapter 12: Some Thoughts on Adding a Third Axis
About the Author
James "J.J." Barbarello is an avid electronics hobbyist and has written dozens of articles for all of the major electronics magazines on the market today. He has written several other PROMPT Publications books, including Real-World Interfacing with Your PC and PC Hardware Projects, Volume 1.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
