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You Down with SDV
We discuss car manufacturers increasing their focus on Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) instead of physical components used to control vehicle functions.
Recyclable PCBs, EOL Design, Cold Cuts
Infineon’s use of recyclable PCBs to create a soluboard. An examination of the new Arduino Uno, Minima and Wifi, plus a CNC and saw blade update.
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Tour MacroFab's ITAR-Compliant Facility
June 30, 2023, Episode #385
In the spirit of summer, we kick off this week with a timely discussion of whether you can cook food on the engine of your car; how hot would your exhaust pipes even need to be? Stephen shares the current challenges he’s facing with his CNC (computer numerical control) project; avoiding messy wiring, dos and don’ts of using electrical tape and when to upgrade to a bigger 3D printing. We also discuss the special place in hell for the person at the hardware store who puts the wrong screw in the wrong drawer. 😈
Manifold Destiny: Cooking on a Car Engine
- Experience the culinary adventure of transforming your car into a BBQ hotspot
- Exhaust pipes can reach temperatures of up to 1200°F; certainly enough to cook an egg
- Stainless steel changes color based on heat, with blue occurring around 550-650°F and brown near 450°F
- We compare the artistry of welding techniques on Instagram akin to the Mona Lisa to the practical Parker-style welding approach
CNC (computer numerical control): Stephen Project Status Update
- Stephen provides a status update on his ongoing CNC project
- Tips for avoiding messy wiring and achieving a professional look in CNC projects
- Discussion on the dos and don'ts of using electrical tape
- Considerations for upgrading to a larger 3D printer, expanding your printing possibilities
- The special place in hell for the person who puts the wrong screw in the wrong drawer at the hardware store
Summary/Takeaways:
- Transform your car into a BBQ to unlock the culinary potential of your vehicle’s engine
- Avoid Mad Max-style wiring, elevating the overall aesthetic and functionality of your CNC project
About the Hosts
Parker Dillmann
Parker is an Electrical Engineer with backgrounds in Embedded System Design and Digital Signal Processing. He got his start in 2005 by hacking Nintendo consoles into portable gaming units. The following year he designed and produced an Atari 2600 video mod to allow the Atari to display a crisp, RF fuzz free picture on newer TVs. Over a thousand Atari video mods where produced by Parker from 2006 to 2011 and the mod is still made by other enthusiasts in the Atari community.
In 2006, Parker enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin as a Petroleum Engineer. After realizing electronics was his passion he switched majors in 2007 to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Following his previous background in making the Atari 2600 video mod, Parker decided to take more board layout classes and circuit design classes. Other areas of study include robotics, microcontroller theory and design, FPGA development with VHDL and Verilog, and image and signal processing with DSPs. In 2010, Parker won a Ti sponsored Launchpad programming and design contest that was held by the IEEE CS chapter at the University. Parker graduated with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Spring of 2012.
In the Summer of 2012, Parker was hired on as an Electrical Engineer at Dynamic Perception to design and prototype new electronic products. Here, Parker learned about full product development cycles and honed his board layout skills. Seeing the difficulties in managing operations and FCC/CE compliance testing, Parker thought there had to be a better way for small electronic companies to get their product out in customer's hands.
Parker also runs the blog, longhornengineer.com, where he posts his personal projects, technical guides, and appnotes about board layout design and components.
Stephen Kraig
Stephen Kraig is a component engineer working in the aerospace industry. He has applied his electrical engineering knowledge in a variety of contexts previously, including oil and gas, contract manufacturing, audio electronic repair, and synthesizer design. A graduate of Texas A&M, Stephen has lived his adult life in the Houston, TX, and Denver, CO, areas.
Stephen has never said no to a project. From building guitar amps (starting when he was 17) to designing and building his own CNC table to fine-tuning the mineral composition of the water he uses to brew beer, he thrives on testing, experimentation, and problem-solving. Tune into the podcast to learn more about the wacky stuff Stephen gets up to.
Related Podcasts
Current Conscience Comparator
How low can the power consumption of the Cat Feeder Unreminder go? Parker and Stephen discuss leakage current on this episode of the podcast!
Laser Cutting Tolerancing
They may be known for being electrical engineers but on this episode, Parker and Stephen dig into the more mechanical aspects of their current projects
Recyclable PCBs, EOL Design, Cold Cuts
Infineon’s use of recyclable PCBs to create a soluboard. An examination of the new Arduino Uno, Minima and Wifi, plus a CNC and saw blade update.
You Down with SDV
We discuss car manufacturers increasing their focus on Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) instead of physical components used to control vehicle functions.
The Simplest SMT Component… In The World
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Don’t Let AI Brew Your Beer
Parker and Stephen discuss Chat GPT-3, a language processing AI system, and what it can mean for engineers and society.
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