Overview
Week 12 was defined by a slower operational pace as the team waited for the physical PCBs and components to clear shipping transit. To maximize efficiency during this holding period, we shifted our focus toward translating last week’s enclosure concepts into detailed 3D CAD models and expanding our simulated LoRa mesh network testing.
What We Did
- Logistics Tracking & Assembly Prep: Monitored the incoming shipments for both the custom PCBs and the board-level components. In the meantime, we prepared our assembly station, organizing soldering tools, solder paste, and stencils to ensure immediate production once the items arrive.
- CAD Modeling for 3D Packaging: Advanced our enclosure brainstorming into concrete digital designs. Using CAD software, we modeled the initial 3D outer shell of the VertexShell, incorporating precise alignment standoffs to match the physical mounting holes designed into our Altium PCB layout.
- Expanded LoRa Simulation: Continued leveraging our development hardware to test the LoRa mesh architecture, focusing on refining data packet structures to minimize overhead during multi-node relays.
Key Decisions
- Enclosure Tolerances: Decided to design the initial 3D-printed enclosure with a slightly generous 0.5mm internal tolerance cushion around the PCB perimeter.
- Why: This accounts for minor physical variations in both the 3D printing process and the raw PCB edges, preventing a tight, forced fit that could stress the board or damage components.
Challenges
- Supply Chain Stagnation: The inevitable downtime caused by shipping transit slowed our physical momentum. Managing this project bottleneck required shifting the team’s workload entirely toward digital modeling and software fine-tuning to prevent empty development cycles.
Next Steps
- Unbox and physically inspect the PCBs and components upon arrival, running basic multimeter continuity checks on the unpopulated boards.
- Export the 3D enclosure CAD files to the 3D printer for our first physical test fit.
- Transition from isolated development kit testing to flashing our software onto the custom physical boards as soon as assembly is complete.