logic pcb_
design and layout: brian crabtree
production: advanced citcuits (aurora, co)
assembly: brian crabtree, kelli cain
second batch smd assembly: rlc electronic systems (wommelsdorf, pa)
image: blank pcb, stencil, stencil, part placement, toaster, flowed parts, almost finished panel.
this board makes things happen. features an atmel mega32 microcontroller, ftdi ft245r usb fifo (we love these), and maxim max7221 spi led matrix driver. also on board are required passives and some shifting logic (74hc165 and 74hc164).
boards are fully assembled in house with reasonable speed. stencils are used to apply lead-free solderpaste. parts placed by hand then cooked in our ugly ugly toaster oven. this approach works very well and is documented in this tutorial by sparkfun.
the rest is adding through-hole components. we panelized the board to make the process easier.
for the second 200 units, we decided to have a local board assembler do the surface mount parts.