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Amphibionics 02 3/24/03 8:08 AM Page 17
2

Printed Circuit

Board Fabrication

Four robot projects are in this book. Each robot will require a con-
troller and sensor circuit boards. The most efficient way of imple-
menting the circuit designs is to create printed circuit boards
(PCBs). The great thing about each project is that the finished PCB
artwork is included, along with a parts placement diagram. All of
the circuit boards and robots in this book have been built and test-
ed to ensure that they function as described. If you decide not to
fabricate PCBs, most of the circuits are simple enough to construct
on standard perforated circuit board (holes spaces 0.10-inch on
centers) using point-to-point wiring if you wish. I don’t recom-
mend this method because one misplaced or omitted wire can
cause hours of frustration.
The easiest way to produce quality PCBs is by using the positive
photo fabrication process. To fabricate the PCBs for each robot proj-
ect, photocopy the PCB artwork onto a transparency. Make sure that
the photocopy is the exact size of the original. For convenience, you
can download the artwork files for each robot project from the
Thinkbotics Web site, located at www.thinkbotics.com, and print
the file onto a transparency using a laser or ink-jet printer with a
minimum resolution of 600 dpi. Figure 2.1 shows the artwork for a

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