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PCBWay

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malc-c

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Hi Guys,

I'm developing a cross platform project for the hobby / model world. It's basically a 16 Channel lighting controller with PWM outputs. I used PCBWay to have 5 prototype boards made and I can't praise them enough for the excellent quality of the boards, and the fast turn-around, even though I chose the standard 3-5 day production run. DHL also pulled their finger out and the boards were delivered the same day the plane touched down !!

Five boards, double sided standard 1.6mm, 1oz copper - $36 - DHL $25 - (+ customs duty and VAT -£16 :( ) - Even with the shipping and duty, it's still hundreds of pounds cheaper than any UK PCB house I contacted.

I opted for SMD components, which whilst allowing for a compact board was a killer on my fading eyesight !!

Just waiting for the last few components and then its on to ironing out any issue through testing...

**broken link removed**
 
What'cha controlling it with? I don't see any brains on the boards yet. Is it hiding underneath?
I'm also curious how much current & voltage these drivers put out...if that's not too prying and personal.
 
Its a PIC micro that's hiding underneath the LCD. This controls a PCA9685. Switching of the 12v is done via 8A MOSFETs, although I've limited the output to 3A using re-settable fuses. In tests, a 1.9 amp load @ 13.8v caused no increase in temperature of the FETS.

Hope that helps
 
It helps my curiosity a lot!
I'm working on a 3-channel driver for high-power LEDs right now. It includes a temperature sensor and thermal shutoff and is bolted on the edge of the LEDs heatsink.
I'll make a bunch of these and drive them with a PWM signal. Haven't decided on the controller yet...probably an Arduino due to the simplicity of the software effort.

PentaRGB 9000 on house composite S2220015.JPG
This is the results of my last LED project, a high-power color RGB LED lamp.
 
Wow, that's colourful...

I've used a variation of this project to create a 4 channel LED lighting controller for my reef tank. The output from the PCA9685 drives meanwell 1 Amp constant current LED drivers to run strings of around 10 CREE 5W LEDs. This gives me 20 x 4000 K white LEDS and 20 Royal blues.

If you opt to develop your own driver boards then I'm sure you will be pleased with PCBWays service and quality.
 
I might be very happy with PCBWays quality, but here on the other side of the pond the shipping price may not be quite so generous.
 
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