Open Source Wireless Environmental Sensor HW, Part 5: Production
- Part 1: Introduction and Requirements
- Part 2: Prototyping
- Part 3: Design
- Part 4: Schematics, PCB and PCBA
- Part 5: Production
- Part 6: Testing the prototypes
In our previous articles (links can be found above) we introduced our wireless environmental sensor project; which is a rechargeable battery-operated wireless sensor that can measure:
- Temperature with ±1.0°C accuracy
- Barometric pressure with 1 hPa absolute accuracy
- Humidity with ±3% accuracy
In our previous article, we finalized the design files for the Schematics, PCB, PCBA and Bill of Materials (BOM). We also published our KiCad files here. This article will cover the production phase of the project.
Production
So we have all the files we need to manufacture the PCBA, what do we do now?
At this stage, you will start looking for a supplier that can produce the PCB and do the PCB Assembly for our prototype series.
What do they need to provide the supplier to give you a quotation?
- Bill of Materials BOM, all the components that are going to be populated and the package (standardized dimensions and tolerances)
- Do you want them to source the components?
- Centroid file is used by the machine that will place the components on the board (Pick and place machine). In our case, this is not needed because all the components are pretty big and will be hand soldered.
- PCB requirements, the manufacturer will help you with the input they need. It can, for example, be the thickness of the board, panel size requirements, the colour of the PCB and solder mask, surface finish, etc.
The following folder contains all the files that were used to produce the boards. In our first batch, we decided to produce 20 boards. We sourced the enclosure, battery and screws on our own. The total price for each board was about $70, pretty ok!
We look at a few different suppliers but in the end, we decided to work with:
The experience was great and they were very friendly and helpful. We will definitely continue to work with them. We want to thank Alice and the team at Elecrow for all their help!
In part 6 of this series, we will finally see the hardware! 😃
Thank you for reading! Take care and hope to see you soon. 🙏🏽
This article is a living document please reach out to me if you want to contribute or see anything inaccurate here. This article is part of our “Boosting Innovation” project.
