Patel: Hardware Design Document 1

Hardware Design
Document

Independent Study and Mentorship

Electrical Engineering
Hansvi Patel
Patel: Hardware Design Document 2

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ..........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1 Purpose & Scope .......................................................................................... 4

1.2 Definitions & Acronyms ............................................................................. 4

1.3 Safety Standards .......................................................................................... 4

1.4 Assumptions and Dependencies ................................................................. 5

2 Design .................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 System Overview Concept .......................................................................... 6

2.2 **Design element #1 – Voltage Ripple Calculations** ............................ 6

2.3 **Design element #2 – Voltage Drop across Resistor Calculations** .... 6

2.4 **Design element #3 – Voltage Output** ................................................. 7

2.5 **Design element #4 – Conductor Spacing** ........................................... 9

3 Circuit Design .................................................................................................... 11

4 Play – Doh Circuit ............................................................................................. 13

4.1 The Dough .................................................................................................. 14

5 Revision History ................................................................................................ 14

Patel: Hardware Design Document 3

Table of Figures

Figure 1 - **Hardware Element Block Diagram** .............................................. 6

Figure 2 - **Voltage Ripple** ................................................................................. 6

Figure 3 - **Initial Voltage Output** .................................................................... 7

3.1 Voltage change after Bridge Rectifier................................................... 7
3.2 Voltage change after Capacitor ............................................................. 7
3.3 Ripple Current in a Capacitor ................................................................ 8
3.4 Function of Inductor ............................................................................... 8
3.5 Ideal Voltage Output .............................................................................. 8
Figure 4 - **Conductor Properties** ..................................................................... 9
4.1 Via Properties ....................................................................................... 10
4.2 Fusing Current ...................................................................................... 10
Figure 5 - **Circuit Board** ................................................................................. 11
5.1 Quick Connect Tabs ............................................................................. 11
5.2 Fuse ....................................................................................................... 12
5.3 Transformer .......................................................................................... 12
5.4 Bridge Rectifier .................................................................................... 12
5.5 Inductor ................................................................................................. 12
5.6 Capacitor ............................................................................................... 12
5.7 Resistor.................................................................................................. 13
5.8 Zener Diode .......................................................................................... 13
Figure 6 - **Play – Doh Circuit** ......................................................................... 13
6.1 Types of Play – Doh ............................................................................. 14
Patel: Hardware Design Document 4

1 Introduction
This document details the Hardware Design Requirements of the schematic design
and a replica of a PCB for Hansvi Patel. It will be best understood if read in
correspondence with the BOM to ensure understanding of the parts mentioned in this
document. The schematic design should show the voltage changing from 120 Vac to
24 Vdc using various components and display an understanding of how the
components interact with each other to form this electrical system. This design was
created for demonstrational purposes only.

1.1 Purpose & Scope

The purpose of this project was to develop skills, from making a schematic design for a
power supply and 3D printed model, that will be needed in the electrical engineering
field. From this project, I should also gain a fundamental understanding of how
electricity flows in a circuit and learn common phrases and symbols that an electrical
engineer uses when creating a schematic or documenting the process.

1.2 Definitions & Acronyms

Acronym Definition
BOM Bill of Materials
OTS Off-The-Shelf
MTO Made-To-Order
PCB Printed Circuit Board
AC Alternating Current
DC Direct Current
L Line
N Neutral
G Ground

1.3 Safety Standards

In this product, I was following the UL 60950-1 Information Technology Equipment
Safety Standard. I am following this standard, as my steady state voltage is less than 42.2
Vpeak and 60 Vdc, as anything above this voltage can be harmful to touch without the
proper safeguard. By using this safety standard, I am reducing the risk of injury or
damage that can be caused electric shock and fire. It is important that we follow all safety
standards that are in place to ensure that no harm comes to anyone that decides to use or
make this product.
Patel: Hardware Design Document 5

1.4 Assumptions and Dependencies

When making this schematic design, I had to make assumptions about the capacitor size
and current at first to make sure I was following the guidelines for my project. After I
made the assumptions about the size of the capacitor and how much current I would need
in order to keep the power under 2 watts, I went on Digikey to pick out which part would
work best in my circuit. Once I did this, I had to go back and recalculate the capacitance
size (to determine the voltage ripple) and resistance (to determine the current). However,
despite the fact that I used real parts on my board and made it resemble a PCB, it is
important to note that these were only meant for demonstrational purposes, so the board
does not actually work.

2 Design
When I was creating this project, I did not start with many guidelines because I did not
know much about the safety guidelines that I would need to follow or how a circuit even
worked. However, with my mentor’s help, I decided on making the input voltage 120 Vac
and then the output voltage 24 Vdc. I came to this decision by asking my mentor what
common voltages are for a power supply and picking a voltage that is easy to calculate
(this is a 5:1 ratio). The US AC input voltage is listed at 120 Vac, but in reality, it can
vary from 110 - 124 Vac.

As mentioned many times before, this was not my original idea for my Final Product, so
when I actually decided on creating this product I realized I would have to do some
research to understand the function of each part helping me decide if I wanted to include
the part in my design. After learning more about each part, I ended up choosing the
parts I did from examples of power supplies that I had seen and determining which
would actually be useful and needed. From there, I added the parts in an order that
would get me to my output voltage of 24 Vdc, meaning it would regulate properly. I also
added more parts after my first design when I realized that the voltage was still
fluctuating a lot.

Another decision I had to make was related to my 3D model because originally, I had
planned on 3D printing it. However, as I was working on my schematic design, I
realized that if I 3D printed my model, you would not be able to see all the details and
distinguish the different parts, as they would all look like rectangles. I also did not have
access to a CAD software which I would need to make the 3D model in, so it would have
been more difficult to make it. On this note, my mentor suggested that I instead paint a
board green and then put the actual components on it which is what I ended up doing.
Patel: Hardware Design Document 6

2.1 System Overview Concept

Get Figure 1

BR1

This electronic power supply is supplied by AC line voltage. This AC line voltage is
isolated and stepped down by T1 and rectified by BR1. This low voltage is needed for
electronic circuits which are accessible by users. With the help of the other components,
the voltage is better regulated, and keeps the output voltage more constant around the
24V that I was trying to achieve with this power supply design.

2.2 **Design element #1 – Voltage Ripple Calculations**

Vpk-pk ripple = Iload / f • C

Figure 2

Voltage Ripple is produced when using a bridge rectifier and you are trying to convert
AC to DC and the voltage looks like its bouncing.

2.3 **Design element #2 – Voltage Drop across Resistor Calculations**

1. Pick allowed Voltage Drop (0.5 V) and gather numbers (24 Vac, 2W, I = 0.083)
2. Calculate value of resistor
a. V = IR so 0.5 = 0.083 x R
b. R = .5 / 0.083 = 6.03
3. Find closest resistance to this value @ 2W rating
a. V = 0.083 x (Ractual) = Real Drop at Max Load
b. Vdrop max = 0.49 V
Voltage drop is the amount of voltage lost in the circuit. It can occur in a single section
or it can happen throughout.
Patel: Hardware Design Document 7

2.4 **Design element #3 –Voltage Output**

This is the initial voltage without any

regulation from the components. We will
see how the alternating current changes,
with the addition of the components I used
in my schematic design, to direct current
which would look like a straight line if the
voltage is regulated properly and not like
this current sine wave.

Figure 3

This is the voltage after using the bridge

rectifier which gave us a higher peak
voltage nearing around 32V whereas
before it was around 19V. By having a
higher peak voltage, it can make it easier to
smooth the voltage out to get the desired
output.

Figure 3.1

This is what the current and voltage

output would look like in the capacitor
without the help of any other parts. This
is important to note, as the (ripple)
current is causing the capacitor to heat up
which can over time be destructive.

Figure 3.2
Patel: Hardware Design Document 8

This is the voltage after adding the

capacitor to the schematic design. It is
helping to level out the existing alternating
current, so it can reach our desired voltage
output of 24 Vdc. However, this is still not a
Volts

good regulation because it does not meet

my peak voltage which is why I ended up
adding the resistor and zener diode to form
the shunt regulator.

Figure 3.3

This shows the function and importance of

the inductor (explained in section 3). It
depicts how the coils in the inductor acts
differently at different frequencies which
explains why only DC signals are meant to
pass through it (because that is what the end
voltage should be in). If this is not the case,
the inductor will stop the circuit.

Figure 3.4

Ideal Voltage Output This is what my voltage output would look

30 like if I added more components to help
regulate the current, as I was trying to get 24
25
Vdc. Direct current looks like a straight line
20 (and not a sine wave like alternating current)
Volts

which is what the graph to the left is

15 depicting. Even though my power supply is
10 not completely regulated, it is close to this
ideal voltage output which was my goal, as
5 the chances of it actually being 24 Vdc are
0 slim because there are losses that can occur
5 10 15 20 25 30 25 40 throughout.
Time in milliseconds

Figure 3.5
Patel: Hardware Design Document 9

2.5 **Design element #4 – Conductor Spacing**

In this section, I was using Saturn PCB Toolkit, on the insistence of my mentor, to
calculate the etch size I should use that would handle the amount of current in my
schematic design. I also used this program to see the interaction between other properties
like frequency on current. I had to also pick the amount of time that I would allow current
to travel through the wire before it could melt the wire. Even though I did not make the
etches according to the sizes calculated below, I wanted to include them in this document,
as they are still an important piece to the PCB.

Figure 4
Patel: Hardware Design Document 10

Figure 4.1

Figure 4.2
Patel: Hardware Design Document 11

3 Circuit Design
To make this design, I first started by creating a sketch of how I would lay out the
pieces on my board. After I got my mentor’s approval, that the layout of the
components and the location of the etches was right, I started marking the exact
locations on the board. I had to make sure all the pins lined up, and that none of the
pieces were too close together because it would be harder for another person to see
each component. This would defeat the point of creating the board in the first place,
as I want others to be able to learn more about the field and some commonly used
parts. Once I planned out the board, I put all the pieces on it and got the result
shown below (each component is also explained further). The gold lines represent the
etches which pretty much shows how the electricity is flowing in the design.

L S1 L1 R1

24V
T1
+
N
BR1 C1
D1

E 0V
E

Figure 5

The quick connect tabs are meant to indicate where the line, neutral
and ground are located on the circuit board (the beginning of the
etches), and then appear where the voltage is 24 Vdc and 0 V (the end
of the circuit). In an actual circuit board, they would be a fast and Figure 5.1
reliable connection/disconnection for the wires.
Patel: Hardware Design Document 12

The fuse was added to break the circuit in the event there is
excessive current. Due to its low resistance, if the current becomes
more than the desired value, causing the temperature to increase,
the fuse will melt, breaking the circuit and preventing it from
Figure 5.2
working anymore. An important feature of the fuse is that once it
breaks, it must be replaced.

The transformer was added to ensure that the input and output
voltage stay apart from one and another. In this design, the
transformer is also stepping down which means the 120 Vac that we
start with is lowering by a 5:1 ratio to reach the desired output Figure 5.3
Figure 4.2
4.3
voltage, 24 Vdc.

The bridge rectifier was added to begin the process of changing the
alternating current to direct current. Referencing the graphs in 2.3,
we can notice that the negative voltage in the AC signal becomes
positive resulting in a higher peak voltage. By changing the
Figure 5.4
alternating current to direct current, it is ensuring that the voltage
does not fluctuate that much.

The inductor was added in this power supply because it helps

regulate the current from the input source to the output source. The
magnetic field in the inductor also allows it to store energy. It also
allows DC signals to pass which means that if the current flowing
through the inductor changes, it will change the amount of voltage Figure 5.5

that passes through.

The capacitor was added to smooth the ripple current. We wanted to

smooth out the AC because there was a large portion that was
unwanted. By adding the capacitor, we can increase the average
output voltage, which would provide current when the output Figure 5.6
voltage drops.
Patel: Hardware Design Document 13

The resistor and zener diode were added to create a shunt regulation.
Shunt regulators are very important in a linear power supply (the
design I created) because it allows the voltage across the load to
remain constant. The resistor specifically makes sure that the
Figure 5.7
voltage drops to a certain level, which in the case of my schematic
design, it would be close to 24V. The zener diode, on the other hand,
maintains the constant voltage across its terminals and is not affected
by any variations in the current. It also makes sure the power does
not cause the circuit to reach or go above its maximum current. Figure 5.8

4 Play-Doh Circuit
The reason I decided to add a Play – Doh circuit to my original work was based
off a TED Talk I watched by AnnMarie Thomas who showed circuits being made
by children at a young age with Play – Doh. This really inspired me to replicate
something similar and create different types of circuits to not only get the interest
of children and encourage them to look into the STEM field, but also adults as
explaining it with Play – Doh might make it easier to understand.

Below is a picture of a simple circuit that you can make with a battery pack, LED,
and Play – Doh; however, the possibilities are endless, as you can customize the
circuit any way you want. This means you can create many different shapes and
sizes allowing your creativity to also flow which is another reason I wanted to
create a circuit out of Play – Doh. I wanted to show others that this field can still
be fun when working with complex ideas.

Figure 6
Patel: Hardware Design Document 14

4.1 The Dough

The reason the Play – Doh was able to light the LED, with the help of the battery, was
due to the fact that Play – Doh is conductive (it allows the electricity to flow through it)
due to the presence of salt (NaCl). The Play – Doh serves as the wires in this circuit, so
that the electrons can travel and reach the LED where it can light up. For the purposes of
this project, I made the Play – Doh to
ensure it had enough salt to light the LED.

Even though I made conductive Play –

Doh which was the blue, purple, green, and
maroon mounds, I also made an insulating
dough (which was beige) to show another
important topic. This topic was short
circuits because if you push two mounds of
Play– Doh together, you will create a short
circuit, as the electricity will want to travel
through the Play – Doh instead of the LED,
meaning it will not light up. The insulating
dough did not have any salt in it which is
why when you put the insulating dough
between the two conductive mounds of
Play – Doh, the LED will light up.
Figure 6.1

5 Revision History

Revision
Description Revision by
Date
4/4/18 Fixed the earth connections on the schematic Mike Schroers
Got rid of the second resistor and capacitor on
4/11/18 Mike Schroers
the schematic, as they served no purpose
Changed the location of the first resistor and
4/11/18 added a zener diode on the schematic to create Mike Schroers
a shunt regulator
Changed the location of the parts on the board
4/11/18 Mike Schroers
layout and added where the etches belong