Small project turned large, suggestions on pcb cad etc?

[isdale]

Aloha fellow Teensy fans

I've been using teensy since 2.0 or so and have one or more of just about every model in old-projects, recovered bin, or new in baggy.
One of my on-going, far too delayed projects is a game show buttons and lights and audio thing for a friend's professional gig ('family feud' for corporate and other events here on Maui).

At first I figured it would be fairly straight forward to wire up some buttons, neopixels, and audio playback but the features keep adding up. Add to that the desire to have the system break down and be portable - meaning the button panels disconnect from lighting from controller from PA from power... And suddenly there were 150+ connections in the system.

The basic hardware at present consists of:
* teensy 3.x (using audio out on A14)
* pjrc WIZ820io+SD Adaptor (only use SD for sound files)
* pjrc OctoWS2811 Adapter (level shifter for neopixels)

* Two Large Arcade buttons, with Neopixel ring inside and single led bulb in switch body
* Three regular Arcade Buttons, with single neopixel inside for color/action feedback.
* 12-5vdc power converter (to derive power from 12v PA system)
* need to add a Brightness control (n position switch, pot, etc)

I gave up on spade lugs a long while back. I had figured RJ-45 would be a simple interconnect for the various data lines, backed up by some power distribution as required. This still left a LOT of interconnections between the controller stack and the RJ-45s, and tween the button/leds and their end of the RJ45. I switched out spade lugs for the rather nice prototyping WAGO Lever nuts. As the project goes along, with occasional work days mixed with month or other stuff, I've been having to replace some elements (dead neopixels, mostly), so the quick connecting with lever nuts helps.

I am however, looking now at how to box this thing up small and make it robust enough to get tossed around as production gear does when on the road. It shouldnt be that hard to design up a board that has (4-5) RJ45 jacks, the level shifter (74HCT245) chip, an sd card holder, and headers for a plug-in teensy 3.x. (maybe even upping game to a 3.5/6 with SD card).

1) what PCB CAD system would y'all recommend?
i've played with fritzing, and Autodesk's tinkercad, bit of Eagle years ago.

2) what caveats and suggestions do y'all have for someone who hasnt built a board in several decades?

Mahalo!

Jerry Isdale
Maui Institute of Art & Technology
Maui, Hawaii

 

[grease_lighting]

EAGLE would be a good PCB & Schematic editor. Many board houses, such as OSH Park, will accept its output.

Read carefully the requirements (ground rules) on the PCB website for making the board. Try several sites and use their upload checker to find errors in your artwork. Maybe use LT Spice or some sort of simulator to make sure (parts of) your circuits function as planned. Make block diagrams of overall wiring and make notes of how things are projected to function.

 

[Darcy]

Here is my 2p:
I have not looked at Eagle, but had read that its acquisition by AutoDesk was likely to have some money/development benefits but also some License/cost/freeware implications. The implications were enough to put me off.
Assuming your knowledge of Eagle has all but faded, I would recommend Kicad.
I needed to make a board and had no idea how to start, and my research directed me to KiCAD and Eagle.
Kicad has some quirkiness, and will introduce a bit of a learning curve, but I managed OK with no EE experience at all. I had 50 of my 2-layer boards made in China, with Gold ENIG(triples the price), delivered to me in the UK in just less than 2 weeks for £20 GBP. Their delivery was probably the highlight of 2017 for me!
KiCAD has quite a good 3D viewer as standard which was really useful for me to visualise my design with respect to component package layout. I then found a script to interface with FreeCad, which then gave me the ability to place my 3D board including all components, traces and silkscreen in its environment (wires, grommet, enclosure, screws, battery etc), modify the board outline, and push-back into KiCAD.
I'll stop short of recommending FreeCAD for other design, It looked pretty good, but I just exported from there into a high-end Industry standard 3D CAD package that I have access to though work.
I'm sure I read somewhere that Fritzing is best for classrooms and playing, but personally I have never even looked at it.

(FYI There are also Teensy footprints and schemes available in Kicad format.)

Best of luck with your project.

Darcy.