X-by-wire 2012 Layout finished

I’m glad to say that i got the chance to try something completely new for me. 4Layer pcb with 0,1mm lasered blind vias. When downsizing the pcb from last year my focus was on how low can i go with the amount of space.I searched for the smallest parts available, always looking forward in that way, that it has to be possible, to manually assemble the board.

After struggling with the new housing dimensions, i have to say that the X-by-Wire box would have been shrinked to 25% of the last years boxes volume. Due to the using of special connectors and having more than 40 I/O lines the size only shrinked down to 33% of the last years volume. I’m sure its a great step forward for me, because i never had the chance up to now, to use Blindvias for a PCB. Lets hope the boards arrive soon, AT&S is delivering more than 70 boards for the Racing team.

The new Board dimensions are 45x75mm compared to 115x90mm in 2011. This is over 65% PCB space savings! A good job i think…

X-by-Wire 2012 in planning

Today we’ve started the planning for the X-by-wire Box 2012. Last week someone said to me:

Whats that Box for? Sensing the pedals with such a big box? You must be crazy carrying that Box in your car around.

Sure, he is a combustion engine mechanic and he did not know that drive by wire systems must be safe in a way, that its fail-safe in every situation. In the car with combustion engine its the same as it was build in my VW Käfer: Bowden Cable back to engine. Not very innovative, but cheap and functional. In the electric driven car we need a extra micocontroller for that pedal “measurements”…

Mechanics always want to build a light car, you know. So that’s my job this year, building up a new X-by-Wire Box, same functionality but smaller and lighter has to be the slogan.

Challenge accepted!

X-by-Wire 2011 running

A few days now before the first contest for our car in England the x-by-wire system is now ready be put into the car.

Everything seems to be working fine for me, but the car is really struggling with several electrical and mechanical problems so that there is the possibility, that the car may be the first time driving in england on the racing track of silverstone.

X-by-wire Rev.B

In cause of the heavy workaround needed to get the first PCB running, i decided to adopt the failures into a new revision of the x-by-wire board. Now it worked since the first assembly very good, so that i can focus on proramm the algorithms for checking the sensor values and communication with the electrical control unit of our car.

Innovative Electronic Design – pushing the limits