Mechanical Layout of Electronic Modules

[TerryJC]

Attached is a diagram which shows the mechanical layout of the Pi Zero, the Motor Drive Board, the A/D Module and the DC-DC Converter Board.

These components will be utilised in the system as follows:

• Raspberry Pi Zero - Gate Valves, SumpPi, plus Wendy House, Railway Room and Gazebo Pis.
• Motor Drive Board - All Gate Valves.
• A/D Module = All Gate Valves, all Level Sensors (up to 4 sensors per board).
• DC-DC Converter Board - All Gate Valves, Level Sensors, Pis.

The diagram has a couple of empty sheets, which can be deleted if we find them to be not needed, but I thought we could put in the layout of the various sub-system components there, eg Gate Valves, Pi Interface Cases etc.

I'd like to discuss the layout on Tuesday when I come to WMT.

[TerryJC]

While considering the design of the Gate Valve, I realised that I had not included the USB to Ethernet Adaptors or the Micro USB to Type A Ethernet Adaptors in the mechanical drawings.

See the updated Layout Drawing attached.

[Penri]

Terry

Did you include a file in your last post, if so its dropped off!


Penri

[TerryJC]

Drat!.. I thought I had, but I also did the dreaded Preview and I'm almost certain it was there then.

Try this.

[TerryJC]

Please find attached the latest version of the mechanical design. This is to complement the electronic design that will eventually appear in viewtopic.php?f=15&t=113.

Penri,

In this drawing, I have corrected the dimensions of the A/D Board, which you will recall was wrong when you did the first baseboard. I don't quite know what I did, but these values were converted from inches from the Adafruit data at https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-4-c ... /downloads, so I can only assume a transcription error. These numbers have been checked against the actual device.

On Sheet 3, I have included a Drilling Diagram for the Common Baseboard. However, it isn't much use at the moment because none of the holes are dimensioned! I did try to do it using the Gate Valve, but I'd have to completely disassemble it to get any hope of accuracy. Can you use the CAD tool that you used before to supply the missing values (or a drawing that I could drop in).

[Penri]

Terry

Can you use the CAD tool that you used before to supply the missing values (or a drawing that I could drop in).

Yes, probably, will check on what I have when I have a little more time. Vicky has been through the wringer a little, health wise, so I need to concentrate on that at the moment.


Hwyl

Penri

[TerryJC]

OK. I hope she gets better soon.

I'm working through the system circuit at the moment.

[Penri]

The mechanical model of the baseboard has been modified in light of findings from prototype build.
Checking actual modules against paper print of Model showed positive results.
2off 3D prints are on order to allow for physical check and to build of another interface.

[TerryJC]

In line below are the pictures that I've taken of the new baseboard and the attached modules. I started with a Gate Valve Assembly because there are more modules used.

First the baseboard with pillars (plan view):

Baseboard_Plan_View_with_Pillars.jpg (724.24 KiB) Viewed 1364 times

The baseboard with pillars (side view):

Baseboard_Side_View_with_Pillars.jpg (617.33 KiB) Viewed 1364 times

Then the baseboard with modules (plan view):

Baseboard_Plan_View_with_Modules.jpg (513.33 KiB) Viewed 1364 times

Then the baseboard with modules (side view):

Baseboard_Side_View_with_Modules.jpg (516.84 KiB) Viewed 1364 times

Comments on the above:

1. The dimensioning seems perfect and all the module fit with no difficulty.
2. One minor niggle; the DC-DC Converter holes are slightly skewed, so the module is slanted wrt to the side of the board.
3. In the side views, you can see the pillars that I've used; 8 mm for everything except the Pi which is on 25 mm pillars.
4. Unlike your pillar-kit, I cannot extend the pillars, because I don't have pillars with threaded spigots on one end. Ideally, I feel that the Pi pillars should be at least 28 mm.
5. I have decided to use the full width of the Veroboard for both the Gate valve and the Interfacing Boards. It's not needed, but it saves an extra cut, plus the board removed would be too small for anything useful.

[TerryJC]

Attached is the latest version of the Mechanical Layout Diagram. This reflects the layout of the installed SumpPi and the Gate Valve that will be installed in the coming week.