Assembly instructions

Owned by Josh Siegle
Last updated: Apr 07, 2016
2 min read

How to make EIBs for beginners from a beginner 

by sujean.oh@gmail.com from the Gire Lab at University of Washington

Step 1: Order the Omnetics connectors        

Order early!  When we ordered, the lead time was 6-8 weeks.

32 pin connector: Omnetics Part Number: A79026-001

 

Step 2: Get the boards printed

  1.     Grab the Eagle files for the type of board you want printed from the open ephys git hub: https://github.com/open-ephys/flexDrive/tree/master/Electrode%20Interface%20Boards
  2.     Print them.  

We used https://oshpark.com.  

They accept Eagle CAD files, making them super easy to order from.  We opted for the higher quality 2oz copper, .8mm thickness (their standard boards are 1.6mm thick with 1oz copper).  They take longer to make, but we still got our boards back in about 2 weeks.

 

Step 3: Have a solder service assemble your boards.

We are in the Seattle area and used a local business http://www.pcacorporation.com/.  They did 20 boards at $25/ea with a one week turn around. 

They did need gerber files.  Sparkfun has a tutorial on how to export them from Eagle: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-eagle-board-layout/generating-gerbers.  

If Eagle can’t find the Spark Fun CAM processor, even though you dropped the file into the Eagle CAM Jobs folder, check the OptionsàDirectory in Eagle, and tell Eagle where the CAM Jobs folder is located.

Note:  I was getting a 64 channel board made, which has two 32 pin connectors right next to each other, making hand soldering impossible for a beginner.  I also attempted to do some stencil reflow soldering myself, and if you have no experience like me, I do not recommend.  I then took the job over to a solder service, who said that they could not do the job but recommended the service we ended up using.  Basically, whether or not you or a service will be able to do assemble the board may depend on which board you're making.

 

Step 4: Epoxy the connectors

Place a thin layer of epoxy over the solder connections.  The only thing holding the connectors in place is the solder, so it’s good to have some reinforcement, especially if you anticipated a lot of plugging and unplugging.

 

That’s it!  Hope that helps someone!