For reference, here’s a link to my Nixie Clock Design Review!
- Time
- Like everyone, this is probably the most substantial. We’re in the middle of capstone final project deadlines, so juggling the two is going to need to be a constant thought!
- Wood Selection
- This is my “Known Unknown” right now- I have a general idea of what I want (light colored wood, single piece), but nothing more set than that. This is the focus of my schedule for the next week- getting a grasp on what this is going to cost (money, time, and effort-wise) is my next priority.
- Surface Mount Soldering
- I own a soldering iron, but the development board I’ve found has a few very tiny components. I’d love to use the ITLL or Idea Forge electronics labs, but these are only open during business hours (when I have other commitments), which goes back to constraint number 1.
- Machining
- This is something I need to ask Greg (in the idea forge machine shop) about next week. Scheduling time to work on this in his shop hopefully won’t be an issue, but is still a potential constraint
- Finishing Practices
- Wood finishing isn’t something I have a ton of experience with, so this will likely be a constraint at some point. I’ll need to do some research on how I want to finish the wood part of my clock before I purchase anything, so working this into my schedule is something to consider.
3 Comments. Leave new
I also second Dennis and Tyler. You can easily develop a great relationship with Mark and he’ll let you do pretty much what ever the hell you want. Greg will instantly scold you if you try to bring wood into his shop. As for the wood selection you might want to stop by the ikea home flooring section! They have tons of different types/finishes of wood and give out samples if you ask nicely.
I agree with Dennis, if you are using wood then go to the ITLL. Greg’s shop usually has a 20-30 minute wait time if your not there right when the shop opens! Just a reminder that you need drawings before entering Greg’s shop. If you are building microchip sized components then you need to use a CNC to get your chip base set up before soldering. Dude I feel you on the time thing!
Good luck, I don’t think soldering will take you long especially if they’re laid out on a PCB like you have. In my experience, it rarely take more than 4 seconds to solder a pin on the board unless you’re talking like microchip sized components then uhhh, that’s a problem. You might be able to ask Mark at ITLL for machine shop if you’re deciding to use wood. I think Greg won’t let people use wood on his machines just because it’s really messy, but he makes exceptions sometimes.