Designing Embedded Hardware

Putting It All Together

Once the PCB has been fabricated and checked carefully to ensure that all pads and tracks are intact and properly etched, do the construction a step at a time and check everything as you go. Do a continuity test between the ground pads and the ground pin on the power connector.

Start construction by soldering in the power connector and the voltage regulator and its support components, including the power LED if you’ve included one with your regulator.

Soldering

Soldering is very easy to do well and very easy to do badly. The basic skills are easy to learn. Becoming a wizard with the soldering iron is not hard to achieve.

Note

Safety First

The most important thing to note about solder is that it contains lead. Therefore, all soldering should be done in a well-ventilated work area, and you should avoid breathing the fumes! After soldering, wash your hands, especially before eating! Solder can splatter, so always wear protective eyewear and clothes.

Solder is a metal alloy with a relatively low melting point. It is used to bond components to circuit boards and forms a conductive join. There are two basic categories of soldering tool—the standard soldering iron and the rework station. Rework stations blow heated air through a small nozzle and are primarily used with surface-mount components. However, it is relatively straightforward to solder all but the finest of surface-mount components using a standard soldering iron. You don’t necessarily need the more ...