[TriEmbed] Advice Needed

[Pete Soper]

As I understand it a license to use the "lite' version of Eagle for
stuff you want to sell is well under $100. For the unconstrained version
the licenses is something like $800.

It would be nice to get a KiCAD class going, even if it starts out in
'blind leading the blind' mode at first.

-Pete

On 10/3/2013 10:17 PM, The MacDougals wrote:
> Hi Chip, we certainly encourage this kind of discussion on this forum.
> I do not know which meeting you attended, but there were discussions at
> recent meetings that certainly apply here.
> 
> The presentation I did on programming ATtiny's is a good way to avoid the
> cost of a full blown Arduino.
> See http://www.triembed.org/ for a link to slides and a YouTube video.
> If you can use three AAA batteries, you will not need a voltage regulator.
> I am working on a board at the moment that will turn on a drip irrigation
> system using an ATtiny84 and a N-MOSFET to drive a DC motor.
> I downloaded Eagle to design my own circuit boards and was quickly
> disillusioned.  Electronic CAD software is made
> by HW engineers and often lacks an intuitive user interface.  I switched to
> Fritzing and was quickly productive (it too lacks
> a good user interface).  After a bit, though, I went back to Eagle and use
> it now to design small boards that I have fabbed by
> OSH Park http://oshpark.com.  They charge $5 per square inch for quantity 3
> boards and have really high quality double sided boards delivered within 2
> weeks.
> Most of my boards are less than three square inches.  My trick to getting
> familiar with Eagle was to watch a series of YouTube videos (sorry
> I do not have the URL at the moment).  They were very helpful.  SparkFun has
> downloads of Eagle parts libraries for most of the stuff they sell.
> I have designed a few of my own parts.
> 
> Bring what you have to the next meeting and we can all help you with
> reducing your BOM.
> 
> Oh, I guess I should say that I think the free version of Eagle is not for
> designing stuff you sell, so you should purchase a license with your initial
> profits.
> 
> ---> Paul MacDougal
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TriEmbed [mailto:triembed-bounces at triembed.org] On Behalf Of Charles
> McClelland
> Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2013 9:14 PM
> To: triembed at triembed.org
> Subject: [TriEmbed] Advice Needed
> 
> TriEmbed,
> 
> I have only been able to make it to one meeting but I hope to be in town to
> make more going forward.  I hope it is OK for a newbie like me to ask a
> question. 
> 
> I figured out one of the best ways to learn about the Arduino was to build
> something that someone might actually want to buy.  For my first project, I
> built a system that monitors soil moisture and will pump water to the plan
> to ensure it is kept in an adjustable range.  I have a few (superfluous?)
> extras to provide feedback on the soil moisture, sound an alarm if the soil
> get's too moist, not water at night, allow adjusting of the soil moisture
> level, prime the pump and sound an alarm when you run out of water.  It all
> works the way I want it to.  
> 
> Now the part I need advice on - turning this into something I can sell -
> unit of one is fine - on eBay.  I think the next steps are:
>    	1) Cost optimization - I am using a Sparkfrun ProtoBoard and other
> expensive components - how can I get the cost of the components down to
> under $10?
>    	2) Develop a custom circuit board - Though not required for a unit
> of one production, I want to learn this process.  I tried downloading Eagle
> but have not made much progress.
>    	3) Develop / Buy an enclosure - All this needs to be packaged in a
> way that looks semi-professional.
>    
> 
> Any ideas on how to get smart about this process?  Should I simply bring
> this little project to the next meeting?  I appreciate any and all advice.
>    
> 
> Thanks,
>    
> 
> Chip
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> 
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