April 2022
Featured Article
Maker Labs for ECE
By: Ilya Mikhelson, Associate Professor of Instruction, Northwestern University
Over the past couple of decades, the hobby technology and hardware entrepreneurship scenes have been burgeoning. Before, the best a hobby designer could do was to have all of their circuits on a breadboard, with wires going every which way. And if they were adventurous and patient enough, they could solder everything on a perf board. And if they needed a custom enclosure or mechanical component, they would have to become very handy in the shop.
Now, all of this has changed. At our fingertips, we have cheap and fast PCB manufacturing, affordable 3D printers and CNC machines, and system-on-chip modules that allow for even the most complicated projects to be attainable by a dedicated student. This has opened up a whole world of possibilities, as students are able to prototype their ideas into actual products, which solve problems that previously could only be solved on paper.
At Northwestern, I have developed an Electronic System Design sequence that empowers students to use these tools to implement creative designs. For example, in one of my classes, a student created a solar powered system to rent out power banks for people to charge their electronics. Before the explosion of hobby electronics, this would have been impossible to achieve during the span of a one quarter (10-week) course. And if not because of timing, then because of money. At this point, the student was able to prototype their electronics and receive a manufactured PCB in a one-week turnaround for $30. While waiting for that PCB, they were able to 3D print a custom test rig to simulate a locker cubby. And when the PCB arrived, they were able to solder the components, some as small as 0603 LEDs and 0.5mm-pitch 64-pin TQFP packages, all by hand. Following this, they could test the digital logic of all the parts using a USB digital logic analyzer with protocol interpretation. While all of these tools have existed for a long time, their price and user-friendliness has never made them as available to everyone as they are now.
Another student created a system that used an electromyogram to control a mouse cursor on a computer screen. Again, before the modern tech scene, this would have been an overwhelming endeavor, much less able to be completed in 10 weeks. And on top of that, imagine if the student wanted to create a prototype to show investors. At this point, students can 3D print with various materials, perform subtractive manufacturing with CNC machines, and create all sorts of custom shapes with laser cutters. This allows them to create truly spectacular prototypes which are indistinguishable from final products. I remember fondly making my own prototypes out of wood in the shop and holding them together with duct tape and rubber bands, but while there might be something to be said for having shop skills, it simply cannot compete with modern design made possible by new instrumentation.
All these projects and possibilities sound amazing, and they truly are. To enable this, we utilize a “maker” lab with surface-mount soldering stations, logic analyzers, power supplies, oscilloscopes, waveform generators, multimeters, and several 3D printers, as well as a few tables to work at. This is part of a growing eco-system of maker spaces at Northwestern. Another example is the Segal Prototyping and Fabrication Lab, which includes general machine shop equipment, CNC machines, and laser cutters. This space is also used for a “Design Thinking and Communications” course taken by all freshmen in Engineering and so students are immersed in a maker culture from their first year. Another maker space, called ”The Garage”, provides a maker space for student entrepreneurs from across the university. For ECE students, our maker lab builds on this background with a focus on electronics-based projects.
While currently, our maker lab is only available to student taking the associated design courses, we are transitioning this space to make it more broadly available to students interested in working on electronics-focused projects. This again is in line with the broader set of maker spaces on campus, which enable student access at any time once they have appropriate training, and in doing so empowers students to embrace more fully a “maker culture.” Our vision is for students to be able to create whatever electronics project comes to mind, and for our maker space to be the one-stop-shop to do it. Student feedback for the current maker lab has been very positive. Since most hardware projects and entrepreneurial prototypes require electronics, we are also seeing the success of this space extend beyond ECE as students from other departments seek access for projects requiring embedded systems, especially those requiring surface mount work. In summary, the on-going maker movement offers a great opportunity for ECE departments to engage students, since so many projects require electronics and rapid prototyping.
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