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The PCB Design Podcast features conversations on all facets of PCB Design and Hardware Development
Episodes
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Tuesday May 10, 2022
Continuing our discussion on PCB design education, in this episode, joining us is Fergus Downey. Fergus is a Ph.D. student and research assistant at Curtin University in Western Australia (WA) and is currently involved in the Binar Space Program. Today, we will tackle the education and opportunities related to Mechatronic Engineering and a little overview of CubeSat.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Show Highlights:
- Fergus's background and how he landed on the Mechatronic Engineering path
- How is the space industry in Australia driving the students to pursue an electronics-related career?
- Exposure to CAD tools and manufacturing processes helps students understand circuit design better
- Some projects the students in Western Australia like to work on
- Camera PCBs, radiation center PCB, CanSat PCB design, and more
- What are the main challenges involved in designing CubeSats, and how do Altium Designer® and Altium 365 make a great design tool for these projects?
- Electronic design and redundancy–redundant systems in limited space like in spacecraft
- Fergus talks about his team winning the second place in the #PCBetheChange design competition in 2021 with their entry Swan River Clean Up
- Fergus talks about the Mechatronics Engineering Computer Science degree being offered at Curtin University
- Checkout the Binar Space Program website and connect with Fergus on LinkedIn
Links and Resources:
Connect with Fergus Downey on LinkedIn
Binar Space Program website
Learn more about the Mechatronics Engineering Computer Science at Curtin University
Check out the #PCBeTheChange Student Design Competition Winners
Register at Altium Education for Free
Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website
Download your Altium Designer Free Trial
Learn More about Altium Nexus
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
Tuesday Apr 12, 2022
The Hacksmith proves that everything is possible through science, one project at a time.
In this episode, Ian Hillier, the COO, and Co-founder of Hacksmith Industry, will share with us what it is like to create a fully working prototype of the coolest and most fascinating objects we see in the movies, comics, video games. He will also talk about how he transitioned from a full-time mechanical engineer to a full-time youtube content creator. Watch or listen through the end! You will hear everything, from the fun, failures, and the success of recreating futuristic, fictional objects.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Show Highlights:
- Ian talks about his mechanical engineering background and how he and his friend James Hobson founded Hacksmith Entertainment Ltd
- James has been publishing his engineering projects on his blog and videos on Youtube for 16 years and decided to do it full-time in 2015 when he reached about 70k subscribers
- Ian quit his job and joined James just six months before getting married
- The duo focused on getting more views by posting viral videos, one of which was the Captain America Shield project
- Hacksmith’s growing team
- From 70k subscribers, they immediately grew to 100k in 2016 and now 12.4 million and still growing
- Their team now consists of 24 full-time members, which includes mechatronics and electrical engineers, videographers, and the merchandise team
- From creating simple, fun projects to upscale mind-blowing lasers, Hacksmith’s bread and butter are turning fictional objects in movies and games, portrayed through special effects, into a working prototype. Some of their coolest projects are:
- Hacksmith's goal as an organization is to encourage future generations of engineers.
- How does Hacksmith operate as a team?
- Each project is assigned to a team, and they can bring additional resources as needed.
- They create and customize everything in-house; their shop is equipped with all the machines and toys they need
- Ian talks about their most extreme and powerful project, the Hoverboard
- Ian’s favorite projects include high current electronics. His personal favorite is the Rebar Crossbow–it pumps 2000 amps through the rebar until it glows red hot, and then you shoot it
- A retractable Lightsaber created with a modified oxy-propane torch
- Ian explains how designing their PCBs contributes to the success of their projects
Links and Resources:
Visit Hacksmith Youtube Channel to watch more of their mind-blowing engineering projects.
Connect with Ian Hillier on LinkedIn
Connect with Zack on LinkedIn
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website
Download your Altium Designer Free Trial
Learn More about Altium Nexus