[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]
Re: gEDA-user: PCB+GL resistor p0rn
On Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:24:56 +0900
timecop <timecop@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 3D renderings of through-hole components is great and all, but this IS
> 2010, anyone still using through-hole stuff can just use Fritzing or
> something. How about adding relevant features to PCB, like boolean
> operations on copper pours that aren't a hack or ... hey, who am I
> kidding.
You still don't get the point - this discussion isn't about what *else* could be used instead of PCB. It's about what can be integrated into PCB to achieve the desired effect - to compete with the other products out there if you like.
Whether an external tool would do the job or not, apparently you are unaware of the immense quantity of through-hole components in use today, right now, in mass-production modern-day devices. Power supplies and audio equipment make excellent examples, and I am not talking about wall warts and iPods either.
Don't forget your average modern PC mainboard: The PCI/PCIx slots, memory slots, many of the connectors on the back panel, the various pin headers for USB ports, LEDs, fans, switches, etc., the ATX power connectors, and probably the CPU socket as well.
Anything that has to be hand-soldered the first time through (i.e. a run of prototypes) is often easier done with through hole parts unless you have the hands of a high-precision robot.
Sometimes there's just no advantage to surface mount parts. If your product run is limited, they make things more expensive, as was the case with a product I helped design recently. When it was ready to go into production, it turned out that the SMT stencils and machine time for just one side of the board cost slightly more than just using through hole parts since we only intended to make a few hundred units. For both sides - forget about it. Last minute changes were made to switch entirely to through-hole parts before it went into production.
This being 2010 does not mean that we can't make use of technology that's been around a while, if it still does the job properly. Not everything has to be (or indeed, can be) built with SMT parts.
--
"There are some things in life worth obsessing over. Most
things aren't, and when you learn that, life improves."
http://starbase.globalpc.net/~ezekowitz
Vanessa Ezekowitz <vanessaezekowitz@xxxxxxxxx>
_______________________________________________
geda-user mailing list
geda-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user