I'm currently building a few Arduino controlled battery capacity checkers. Each one is capable of testing 3 cells at a time and I searched for a long time trying to find the best solution. I finally found one that was the simplest and did more than one cell at a time.

I currently have built one of them a perfboard and the circuit works great. The problem is is that it took me two whole nights to wire it all. Last night I tried to reconfigure it to make it easier but I'm not having any luck I just keep thinking and trying and redoing it. I thought about using perfboard layout application to help but that takes a long time also...

Does anyone have a way to consolidate the perfboard layout to make it easier and faster? I need to start testing cells as soon as possible and don't have a week or two to build a few of these. I was thinking about doing that dead bug technique I think it's called and just soldering components to each other but the more I think about it the more I keep thinking it's not a good idea cuz it's so complicated. Here is a picture of the schematic and the picture of my first perfboard.. these pictures are the perfboard only halfway completed... so I'm sure you can just imagine what it looks like now with all the components wired up


Any advice on how did you get quicker would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking of maybe taking the Gerber file from the schematic and extruding all the connection lines( not sure what they're called) but excluding them and I 3D print and using conductive paint for the low amperage lines and then using wire just for the load coming from the battery but that seems like a whole another project in itself

 

I use "perfboard" that mimics the usual solderless breadboard layout or similar. SparkFun, Adafruit, and others produce those boards. Working from that, it is very easy to make an Eagle (pre-subscrioption version) template and route away.

The advantage to that is you have schematic capture, which I consider essential.

 

Any advice on how did you get quicker would be greatly appreciated.

I create a board layout from the schematic and use that as a wiring diagram.

Here's the point-to-point wired board:

This perf board has a pad per hole on one side. I made that side the component side because I didn't want to have to worry about the pads causing shorts.

Here's the layout:


The board was for 4 flip flops and I used it to make a 6 flip flop board. By minimizing wire crossings, I was able to use uninsulated wire for most connections.

You can also make homemade boards if your going to make several boards. It will save you most of the wiring. This board was made using the toner transfer method:

This board has been etched, but not drilled.

Component side after drilling:

The board is 1/32" thick, so you can see the copper from the component side.

 

i would say either slog it out with the point to point, if you do have a solid finish date, but id look online ,amazon ect, something with fast shipping, okay you may have to pay more , but its lesson learned. I personally like strip board ,rows of straight tracks, that you can cut with a track cutter. Also as mentioned above veroboard comes in afew layouts.

 

I much prefer Vero strip board, there are a couple of programs out there for layout aid.
Max.

 

Plan on paper many times -- so you don't have to make long routings just to complete a BAD design
Don't optimize space to vertical -- the U shape return leads make neat nH to µH inductors (your circuit may ring as a church organ) ? stay flat