Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

MEP EP#189: Not Even My Final Form - Jeff Garoon on Industrial Product Design

Jeff Garoon

• Y-Combinator alumni from the Winter 2016 batch
• Currently serves as COO of FlowCommand
• At FlowCommand, Jeff is responsible for all hardware design, firmware development, and operations
• Spent his early career as a Production Engineer and Lead Completion Engineer at Oxy USA
• Has been on Y-Combinator’s alumni application review committee for the last 3 cohorts, has raised three rounds of financing, and manages a staff of 17 engineers
• Member of Incubate USC, where he has assisted in writing undergraduate coursework on accelerators and incubators

Industrial product design and testing

• What makes a product an industrial device?
• Prototyping Industrial Hardware
• Arduino and development boards -> First Article

What kind of regulations and certifications do you have to work with?

• How to make it work when you are bootstrapping
• Class 1 Div 1/2 Testing/validation/documentation
• Explosion Proof Devices and Construction
• Intrinsically Safe Barriers

Visit our Public Slack Channel and join the conversation in between episodes!

• Parker
  • Star Wars Detonator is 95% complete
    • It is inside the enclosure and works!
    • Stand needs to be printed and wrap up the paint
    • Original STL files for the detonator by Roel Veldhuyzen
    • Future of this project?
  • USB Type-C Article Update
    • USB Type-C -> FTDI FT230X -> Parallax Propeller is completed
    • Example is on our githubs
    • Next is going to be a direct to MCU style like an ATmega32u4 unless someone else has a better idea from the slack channel?
• Stephen
  • EQ is functioning!
    • Grtyvr from our Slack Channel came up with a good name – The Venti-Q
    • Power Hungry
    • Most of the bands work
      • 1 band has an oscillation problem
      • 1 band is pulling too much current
      • 2 or 3 bands are weak
    • Building a test harness to test each band individually
  • The Super Simple Ribbon Mic live design
    • Saturday Feb 2 @ 6pm Central on the MacroFab Twitch Channel
    • Preamp design for the Microphone
    • Mechanical Design (design of the ribbon frame and the case)
    • Audio Connection (USB? XLR?)
• R.F.O.
  • One board dev kit has three snap off STM 8 microcontrollers
    • One development board with three break off boards
    • Has three different tiers of 8-bit STM microcontrollers: STM8L001J3, STM8L050J3, STM8S001J3
    • STM8-SO8-DISCO
  • Don’t Toss That Bulb, It Knows Your Password
    • Smart Bulbs contain your WiFi credentials in plain text. Surprise!
  • Common Electrical Engineering Interview Topics
    • Luke Metro has been interviewing with Bay Area startups and big tech companies during his last year of college
    • A good list to start becoming a better Electrical Engineer

Tags: electronics podcast, EQ Build, FT230X, FTDI, Interview topics, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, Ribbon Mic, ST Microcontrollers, Star Wars Detonator, USB Type-C, Venti-Q

Guests

• Zapp
  • Chief Bling Officer (CBO) at AND!XOR
  • During his limited free time he writes vulnerable C code, dabbles in Kicad, and trolls Arduino bot accounts on Twitter
  • Never been seen at the same time and place as Batman...But then again, neither has Stephen
• Hyr0n
  • A button pusher, easily replaced by a thousand monkeys with a thousand laptops, but manages to crank out firmware and hacker puzzles
  • If you’re reading this statement, he already has root access to your computer

We have had Zapp and Hyr0n on the podcast before. Check out MEP EP#69: Incognito Mode and MEP EP#109 Arduino, The Gateway Drug To #BadgeLife.

Topics

• Hyr0n’s Theremin
• Arduino bot accounts?
• Quick Recap on DEF CON 26 and the Bender AND!XOR Badge
• Engineering Process behind badge design
  • idea -> thing
  • Come up with all the ideas and Venn Diagram the hardware needed to enable those ideas
• Espressif ESP32
  • Pushing it to the limit
    • Spec sheet thots "oh shit, nice, lots of ram"
    • Developer after math "oh shit, xtensa sdk blows, it needs all that RAM"
  • Pros and Cons
  • Hardware and software interactions are interesting and poorly documented
  • Erratas?
• SD Card failures?
• Hackaday Badge and Hackaday Super Conference
  • Zapp and Hyr0n are giving a talk about lulzcode and hardware puzzles
  • Lulzcode docs

Tags: AND!XOR, Arduino Bot Accounts, Bender, DEF CON 26, electronics podcast, ESP-32, ESP32, Espressif, Hackaday, HyR0n, Lulzcode, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Super Con, Theremin, WROVER, Zapp

• Parker
  • RTL SDR functional setup?
    • RTL-FM
    • Seems to work fine for FM stuff
    • AM works in direct sampling mode but I can’t seem to get that to work with RTL-FM
      • Upconverter needed?
      • Auto switching signals?
    • RTL_FM also does not support stereo sound
    • Might need a new option?
      • R820T P7K5 Software Defined Radio?
  • KiCad User improvements for MacroFab in the future
    • KiCad Python API has awful documentation
  • Particle Spectra Conference
    • Workshops for IoT hardware and software
    • MEP EP#122: Brandon Satrom and the LANoT
• Stephen
  • Vox in a box tester layout is complete. Will order tonight
    • May use this to also develop a preamp for a friends leslie rotary cabinet
• R.F.O.
  • Parallax Propeller 2 Soon?
    • Production samples work!
    • Changes from First Prop
      • 80Mhz -> 180Mhz
      • 32 -> 64 I/O
      • Hardware peripherals
      • Built in Debugger
      • Preliminary Specifications and Datasheet
    • Ken Gracey and Chip Gracey on the Podcast?
  • Luke Robertson from the Slack Channel
    • How do you search for technical information? I am specifically thinking in regards to forums. I realize there is a niche forum for everything but I was wondering if there are a few standouts people prefer (presumably ones that aren't laced with kids looking for answers to their homework).
    • Luke mentions Eevblog.com and diystompboxes.com

Tags: electronics podcast, KiCad, MacroFab, macrofab engineering podcast, MEP, Parallax Propeller 2, Particle Spectra, R820T P7K5, RTL_SDR, RTL-FM, Vox in a Box

In this episode of Circuit Break, Parker Dillmann and Stephen Kraig are joined by Matt Brown, an inventive engineer and YouTube content creator renowned for his electrifying DIY projects and creative automotive builds. The trio delves into the concept of "good enough engineering," where Matt shares insights from his career, including his experiences working at Tesla and on various personal projects like the land speed car and the off-road Viper. The discussion also covers the challenges of engineering in unpredictable environments, the balance between planning and improvisation, and the joy of creating new things.

Key Discussion Points:

• Introduction of Matt Brown and his YouTube channel SuperfastMatt
• The concept of "good enough engineering" and its application
• Matt's background in engineering and his career journey
• Examples of "good enough engineering" in Matt's projects
• The importance of intuition and experience in engineering decisions
• The challenges of off-road vehicle engineering compared to aerospace
• Balancing multiple large projects and knowing when a project is "done"
• The appeal of starting new projects versus finishing existing ones
• Matt's thoughts on building an airplane and the associated challenges
• Discussion on CNC machines and 3D printers in DIY projects
• The difference between real engineering and good enough engineering
• The importance of planning and iterative testing in engineering
• The role of community and feedback in the engineering process

Relevant Links:

• SuperfastMatt YouTube Channel
• Matt Brown on Instagram

Community Questions:

• What are your thoughts on the concept of "good enough engineering"?
• How do you balance planning and improvisation in your projects?
• Have you ever started a project and found it challenging to finish? How did you handle it?

MacroFab:

This show is brought to you by MacroFab, which provides a platform for electronics manufacturing services (EMS), hardware development, designing and prototyping for individuals, startups, and businesses. Key MacroFab services include PCB (Printed Circuit Board) fabrication, assembly, and testing. Customers can use MacroFab's platform to upload their PCB designs, select components, and specify manufacturing requirements.

We Want to Hear From You!

Subscribe to Circuit Break wherever you get your podcasts! And join our online discussion hub at forum.macrofab.com to keep the conversation going with electrical engineering experts and experimenters! You can also email us at [email protected].