![]() I expected it to terminate 1 or 2 millimeters before module's edge but in reality it's flush with the frame. First of all, a full size PCB was a mistake. While I would consider the whole adventure a success, I am not completely happy. I contacted Framework for a loaner laptop to test it, got it in a few days, tried to push card in, and. However, with all electrical stuff out of way, it came time to see if my expansion card can actually fit. And here is the genius of Framework's extension card design - it's still just a type-C so I managed to test everything before ever needing a Framework device. With PCB in hand and after a LONG time waiting for components (darn car manufacturers got all the good CAN bus stuff), I was ready to test the device. And yes, you really need thinner than regular PCB in order to mount a type-C connector. Any manufacturer capable of producing double-sided 0.8mm PCB at 6/6 should be just fine. ![]() Manufacturing board was actually a breeze as I modified PCB slightly as not to cause warnings with the Molex 105444-0001 connector. Not only that but the connector is common enough that finding a premade cable (or making your own) will present no trouble. A vertical JST PH connector required just a minimal pin bending to fit highly restricted module height perfectly. At the end I went with a surprisingly well-fitting bodge. My favorite failure was using an edge connector with a Phoenix ZEC connector attached to it but I found it sticking from the side of laptop was a bit too much. Selecting a user-facing connector was a pure trouble and I went over multiple ideas to no avail. I did have to go with a full size PCB in order to fit everything onto a single PCB side but I figured 3D printed case would be ok. Even better, all passives retained their 0805 size. A type-C connector was a pain in the butt to hand solder and 0.5 mm microcontroller and UART controller were close to follow. While most of LEDs had to go due to the lack of space, the programmatically-controlled bus termination thankfully remained.Īfter much jiggling of components in order to fit them, all was done. It was immediately clean that I couldn't support a fully insulated interface as there was no chance to fit all components. ![]() Since I already have a CAN bus USB controller, I figured to just make everything a bit smaller while retaining as much features I could. Fortunately, due to KiCAD using a (relatively speaking) simple human-readable file format, I managed to create a DipTrace PCB template. Those using other PCB software are kinda out of luck as board description is not sufficient to replicate all the curves board has. ![]() In there you'll find KiCAD templates for creating your own PCB and a bunch of a mechanical drawings in addition to an enclosure suitable for 3D printing. Can I fit a CAN bus interface there?Īll resources for expansion cards are part of a reasonably structured GitHub repository. However, I couldn't help but notice their developer program for expansion cards. As I use a laptop screen as my primary visual interface most of the time, I simply find 13" a tad bit too small. I find the Framework laptop an interesting concept and the only thing preventing me from buying one was the fact there's no 15" model.
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