Controllers
I spent most of this week designing the controller enclosure. We’re still planning to go ahead with our original plan of laser-cutting a box to house the controller, but doing so with an online service (Ponoko) rather than TechSpark. I sent out the purchase request for the laser cut parts as well as the hardware to assemble the controllers. It’s a simple MDF box that will house the buttons and a small bit of perfboard to connect the buttons to the connector. The top and bottom of the box bolt together with M3 hardware (which we’re ordering from McMaster) to sandwich the sides in place.
Controller CAD model
Audio
I’ve ran into some issues trying to solder the components to the PCBs. I can’t get the solder to flow and coat the iron’s tip. I thought it was an issue with the unleaded solder at first, but I recently got some leaded solder and it’s behaving the same way. I tried to clean the oxidized layer off the tip with tip cleaner, flux, and a wet sponge, but to no avail. I’m looking into getting a new tip this coming week.
Updated Schedule
Here’s my updated portion of the Gantt chart:
I added PCB assembly as a new item, as I’ve ran into some hiccups with the component soldering. All the controller fabrication tasks were pushed back due to me behind a little behind schedule going into spring break as well as TechSpark closing. I expect assembly to go a lot smoother once I figure out the soldering tip.