Collaborate Disseminate
While using a stencil should make solder paste application onto PCBs a simple affair, there are a number of “gotchas” that make it more art than science. Luckily, there are …read more Continue reading Stencil Vacuum-Assist Helps Avoid the Heartbreak of Smeared Solder Paste
Your brand-new PCBs just showed up, and this time you even remembered to order a stencil. You lay the stencil on one of the boards, hold it down with one …read more Continue reading Streamline Your SMD Assembly Process With 3D-Printed Jigs
If there’s one thing that woodworkers have always been good at, it’s coming up with clever jigs and work-holding solutions. Most jigs, however, are considerably simpler and more static than …read more Continue reading CNC Scroll Saw Add-On Cuts Beautiful Wooden Spirals
An obligatory “Future’s so bright I gotta wear… denim” joke is the only way to kick off this article. Sorry!
Now that that’s out of the way, how would you turn your own blue jeans into sunglasses? Well you wouldn’t, unless you’ve built an intricate jig for assembling sunglasses frames …read more
Continue reading Denim Sunglasses Frames Use a Wicked Set of Jigs
Here at Hackaday we love all kinds of builds, and we celebrate anytime anyone puts parts together into something else. And while we love the quick and dirty builds, there’s just something about the fit and finish of this four-axis SMD stencil printer that really pushes our buttons.
This build …read more
Continue reading This Four-Axis Stencil Printer is the Ultimate in SMD Alignment Tools
PCB stencils make application of solder paste a snap, but there’s a long, fussy way to go before the paste goes on. You’ve got to come up with some way to accurately align the stencil over the board, which more often than not involves a jury-rigged setup using tape and …read more
Continue reading Adjustable Jig Eases PCB Stencil Alignment Process
Test and programming fixtures are great time-savers for anyone who needs to deal with more than a handful of PCBs. Instead of plugging in connectors (or awkwardly holding probe tips or wires) to program some firmware or run tests, one simply pops a PCB into a custom fixture with one …read more
Anyone who has delved into DIY wheels knows that they are a trickier than it may seem, especially if the wheels aren’t just for show and need to provide things like decent traction and durability. 3D printers have helped a lot, but they’re not a cure-all.
Check out how [Robert …read more
Woodworking is an age-old craft that requires creativity and skill to get the best results. Experienced hands get the best results, while the new builder may struggle to confidently produce even basic pieces. JigFab is here to level the playing field somewhat.
Much of the skill in woodworking comes with …read more
When you build one-off projects for yourself, if it doesn’t work right the first time, it’s a nuisance. You go back to the bench, rework it, and move on with life. The equation changes considerably when you’re building things to sell to someone. Once you take money for your thing, you have to support it, and anything that goes out the door busted is money out of your pocket.
[Brian Lough] ran into this fact of life recently when the widget he sells on Tindie became popular enough that he landed an order for 100 units. Not willing to cut …read more
Continue reading Custom Jig Makes Short Work of Product Testing