Clever Test Rig Clarifies Capacitor Rules-of-Thumb

If you’ve done any amount of electronic design work, you’ll be familiar with the need for decoupling capacitors. Sometimes a chip’s datasheet will tell you exactly what kind of ca…

Physics-Controlled Component Auto-Placer

[Jarrett] recently stumbled upon a class of drawing algorithms called force-directed graphs, which artificially apply forces to the elements. The final graph is then generated by applying the laws …

Want Better 0402 Reflow? Consider These Footprints!

Assembling with a stencil is just that much more convenient – it’s a huge timesaver, and your components no longer need to be individually touched with a soldering iron for as many time…

KiCanvas Helps Teach And Share KiCad Projects In Browsers

KiCad is undeniably the hacker favourite when it comes to PCB design, and we’ve built a large amount of infrastructure around it – plugins, integrations, exporters, viewers, and much mo…

ESP8266 Coaster Keeps Your Drink Warm

Looking for the perfect winter desk accessory? [Wq] has created a beautiful coaster made out of PCBs  that can keep your drink warm with an internal heater. (Chinese). An ESP8266 sits as the main c…

PCB Pen Holder Is Over The Top

Like most of us, [Arnov] used a spare coffee mug to hold pens on his desk. But there has to be a better way, right? Surely if you build a better mouse trap… or, in this case, a pen holder. He…