Inclusion of PCB Fabrication and Testing within Lab experiments

Sharif IM Sheikh; Ahmed Hassebo; James R McCusker

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: ASEE-NE 2022
Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
Publication Date: April 22, 2022
Start Date: April 22, 2022
End Date: April 23, 2022
Page Count: 2
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42181
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42181
Download Count: 250

Paper Authors

biography

Sharif IM Sheikh Wentworth Institute of Technology orcid.org/0000-0003-0187-9806

visit author page

Dr Sharif Iqbal Sheikh has completed his graduate degrees from University of Manchester (UMIST), UK. During his teaching carrier in Asia, Europe, and North America, he was awarded multiple distinguished awards related to teaching, advising, use of instructional technology and supervision to student organizations. He also received several research awards including Best antenna paper in an IEE flagship conference. He has 100+ scholarly publications in refereed journals, conferences proceedings and US patents. His current research interest includes designing RF/micro/millimeter-wave control devices and sensors. He is a Fellow of IEE and Senior Member of IEEE.

visit author page

biography

Ahmed Hassebo Wentworth Institute of Technology

visit author page

Ahmed Hassebo is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the school of Engineering, Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT). Dr. Hassebo has been granted MPhil and PhD degrees of Electrical Engineering (EE) from The City College of The City University of New York in 2016 and 2019, respectively. He has been awarded the BSc of EE from Al-Azhar University, Egypt. His research interests including wireless communications, 4G/5G dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, Smart grid applications, and IoT mission critical applications.

visit author page

biography

James R McCusker PhD Wentworth Institute of Technology

visit author page

James R. McCusker is an Associate Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Since joining Wentworth in 2010, he has been heavily involved with an array of interdisciplinary design courses that range from introductory to capstone courses.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Hands-on experiments to validate the theoretical concepts are essential for most of the Electrical and Computer (EE/COE) Engineering courses. The laboratory manual for these courses mostly requires students to construct the electronic circuit on breadboards and monitor the required response. But the electronic circuits within practical devices are fabricated on printed circuit boards (PCBs) and it is essential for EE/COE students to master the fabrication and troubleshooting process to enrich their measurement related training.

This paper presents a methodology to include PCB fabrication and troubleshooting as the last step of selected experiments. The proposed method started with identifying an experiment with a relatively simple PCB layout. For a junior course laboratory on Analog Circuit Design, the experiment on "Single-stage amplifier design" was selected to introduce PCB fabrication and troubleshooting. The developed lab started with a prelab exercise, where students were asked to simulate the amplifier circuit designed earlier in the lecture section. They were asked to build the model and record the simulated operating point, input/output resistances, and the overall gain of the amplifier. Note that previous experiments are expected to teach the students how to effectively use the professional simulator needed for the prelab exercise. The lab started by comparing the calculated (from the lecture notes) and the simulated responses. Then the students collected the required components from the lab store and constructed the BJT amplifier circuit on the breadboard. Using the DC/AC sources, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope, the measured amplifier parameters were recorded and compared with simulated data. Finally, different methods of generating the PCB layout were introduced and students were asked to prepare the required PCB layout. The layout was implemented using either a PCB plotter or off-the-shelf PCB boards. Interestingly, all the students were highly motivated at this stage of the laboratory and actively took turns in placing and soldering the components on the PCB board. Although most of the circuit board worked during the 1st trial, some groups needed to troubleshoot to rectify the errors. As a bonus mark, students were asked to carefully de-solder the components without any damage. It was clear through the student survey that the inclusion of this last step made a huge difference in student participation and satisfaction.

Citation
Format

Sheikh, S. I., & Hassebo, A., & McCusker, J. R. (2022, April), Inclusion of PCB Fabrication and Testing within Lab experiments Paper presented at ASEE-NE 2022, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts. 10.18260/1-2--42181

TY - CPAPER
AB - Hands-on experiments to validate the theoretical concepts are essential for most of the Electrical and Computer (EE/COE) Engineering courses. The laboratory manual for these courses mostly requires students to construct the electronic circuit on breadboards and monitor the required response. But the electronic circuits within practical devices are fabricated on printed circuit boards (PCBs) and it is essential for EE/COE students to master the fabrication and troubleshooting process to enrich their measurement related training.

This paper presents a methodology to include PCB fabrication and troubleshooting as the last step of selected experiments. The proposed method started with identifying an experiment with a relatively simple PCB layout. For a junior course laboratory on Analog Circuit Design, the experiment on &quot;Single-stage amplifier design&quot; was selected to introduce PCB fabrication and troubleshooting. The developed lab started with a prelab exercise, where students were asked to simulate the amplifier circuit designed earlier in the lecture section. They were asked to build the model and record the simulated operating point, input/output resistances, and the overall gain of the amplifier. Note that previous experiments are expected to teach the students how to effectively use the professional simulator needed for the prelab exercise. The lab started by comparing the calculated (from the lecture notes) and the simulated responses. Then the students collected the required components from the lab store and constructed the BJT amplifier circuit on the breadboard. Using the DC/AC sources, digital multimeter, and oscilloscope, the measured amplifier parameters were recorded and compared with simulated data. Finally, different methods of generating the PCB layout were introduced and students were asked to prepare the required PCB layout. The layout was implemented using either a PCB plotter or off-the-shelf PCB boards. Interestingly, all the students were highly motivated at this stage of the laboratory and actively took turns in placing and soldering the components on the PCB board. Although most of the circuit board worked during the 1st trial, some groups needed to troubleshoot to rectify the errors. As a bonus mark, students were asked to carefully de-solder the components without any damage. It was clear through the student survey that the inclusion of this last step made a huge difference in student participation and satisfaction.
AU - Sharif IM Sheikh
AU - Ahmed Hassebo
AU - James R McCusker PhD
CY - Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
DA - 2022/04/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Inclusion of PCB Fabrication and Testing within Lab experiments
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42181
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42181
ER -