ECE4512/4522/4532/4542 Senior Design
From Ece
Senior Design (course homepage) is a two-semester course for senior-level students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University. The course constitutes the capstone design experience for undergraduate electrical and computer engineers.
This is the official wiki page for Senior Design. All design students are welcome to add to this page any wisdom that may be helpful to other and future students in the class. Dr. Reese has provided some possible topics that students may want to use for contributions; other headings may be added. Obviously, any objectionable content will be removed as soon as it is discovered, and the author will be ... contacted.
For Senior Design team wikis, see Design I team wikis and Design II team wikis.
Contents |
Specific tips and writing assignments
Design I
- Shortcut to GE3513 Technical Writing
- Do not cheat the 11-pt Times New Roman font.
- Adding fluff to fulfill length requirements is more damaging than submitting a short document.
- Include lots of oscilloscope pictures. The graders really, really like that.
Design II
- Begin preparing the layout for your PCBs as soon as possible.
- Information on packaging your final product: Product packaging
- Look forward to the exit interviews; use them as motivation to complete your project.
Design tips
- Start early and finish early!
- The de-solderer is your best friend. Just don't touch it the wrong way.
- Don't be afraid to use a Microcontroller (MCU) that is not a PIC. You might find out halfway through your project that the PIC version you are using simply cannot handle the speed or features you want to implement in your design. So, be SURE to estimate your speed and storage requirements BEFORE buying an MCU. However, using a non-Microchip MCU, such as an Atmel device, will mean using a different development environment. Be sure to read your documentation!
- A small microcontroller like the PIC18F2420 may be mostly sufficient for your design. However, if you need more IO, think about these 30 cent alternatives before you spend 3 more dollars for a more expensive microcontroller. Extra IO Options
Programming tips
- Microchip PICkit2 programmers are available for your use.
- Use a code versioning or repository system such as subversion to keep up with code revisions. These systems might be a little cumbersome to set up and get used to, but they can really save you a lot of work.
- Your design might need to reuse the programming pins after the device is programmed. Here's a few ways you can multiplex the use of those pins: Programming Interface Multiplexing
Revision Control
Always store your code in some kind of version control system. It will help you to maintain a structured development environment and avoid situations where you break code that was working, and then can't get it working again.
- General Repository Systems
- Subversion is a good repository system with few of the warts of CVS and RCS. The Subversion page gives Windows-orientation installation and usage instructions. It also contains external links to Linux/Unix instructions and additional information.
- CVS
- RCS
PCB tips
- Lots of info on how to design and assemble a PCB : PCB Design & Assembly
- WARNING Remember, the freeware version of Eagle has a board size restriction of about 4 in by 3.2 in. If your board needs to be bigger than that limit, use OrCad.
- Appearance is very important. Here is an Eagle library to generate some real purdy MSU schematic frames. (NOTE: Remember that the freeware version of Eagle limits you to one schematic page, so use the 11x17 inch schematic frame to get more space.)
- A real PCB samurai ignores the Auto-route feature found in the PCB layout tool suites. No pain, no gain, right? Seriously, auto-routers are notoriously terrible. Young grasshopper, you are a heck of lot smarter than some stupid auto-route software algorithm; plus, you know what the signal trace is actually doing and how important it is/isn't. Think about it: If you say "Auto-route this signal", what you are saying "I don't care how long this signal takes to get from point A to B, nor do I care about the signal quality when it does get there." Is this what you want to do at the final stage of your hard-earned design???? Just formulate a plan for the topology of your board as a whole (this is called floorplanning), put on the headphones with some jammin' tunes, then dive in. Route the important (high-current or time-critical) traces first. The later nets, where your geometric freedom is restricted, should be less demanding signals. Just relax... Let the inner artist in you come out... Routing can be therapeutic.
- Mr. Owl, how wide should a high current trace be? Let's find out: PCB Trace Width
- I know how wide my traces need to be, so how do I make them that wide? Changing Trace Widths
- What components are available in the lab? Component Datasheets Senior Design Lab Inventory & Supplies
- Which files do I need to send to Wes for a schematic/board review and to order the boards? PCB Review & Ordering
Resources for ordering parts
Before making purchases, please first read the purchasing guidelines. In brief, each team has $250. However if an order subtotal exceeds $250, this money cannot be used to pay the invoice in part.
- Mouser Electronics - located in Texas, orders take about 3 days to arrive
- Jameco Electronics - located in California, orders take about 1 week to arrive
- Digi-Key - $5 service charge added to orders less than $25, located in Minnesota, orders take about 1 week to arrive
Useful parts
- A PIC with USB capability
- Tweezers when soldering small components on a PCB.
- Wire for wire-wrapping.
- USB Host device capability (http://www.vinculum.com), has online store!
- Great resource site on USB Interfacing by John Hyde (http://www.usb-by-example.com)
