I am working on a project and I designed a PCB using Eagle. I got the library file for Arduino mega 2560 and used it in schematic and the main board. Now that the PCB is printed, How Do i solder the mega onto the board? The USB pin out and the power jack have pins beneath them which stop the board from getting in place. This was my first PCB design, is there something that i am missing?
I submit the Arduino Mega PCB ws never desiigned to be a daughter board. (a board piggybacked on another) It was designed as a stand alone board. You will probably need to find another mounting
merthod. I would suggest posting a photo of the
problem area and one of the board sitting on top of your board (on the pins you mentiobed) and se if anyone bites.
The Arduino must sit on pins. Regular header pins make it permanent.
I like "Swiss Machine" pins because I can unplug the Arduino when I have a problem. Sparkfun sells them. Expensive but worth the money.
raschemmel:
I submit the Arduino Mega PCB ws never desiigned to be a daughter board. (a board piggybacked on another) It was designed as a stand alone board. You will probably need to find another mounting
merthod. I would suggest posting a photo of the
problem area and one of the board sitting on top of your board (on the pins you mentiobed) and se if anyone bites.
Sadly I left the PCB at my work place and didn't take any pics but yes the Arduino board can't be directly soldered.
MorganS:
The Arduino must sit on pins. Regular header pins make it permanent.I like "Swiss Machine" pins because I can unplug the Arduino when I have a problem. Sparkfun sells them. Expensive but worth the money.
Male or female pins? I was thinking the same, if i go for the male pins, I will have to attach the Arduino on the back side of PCB but i am ok with that.
I think before I can give advice, you would need to provide a drawing of what you want to do. I don't know what orientation you have the mega, the size and shape of the designed pcb etc, so I have some ideas, but they are dependant on what is actual.
Perehama:
I think before I can give advice, you would need to provide a drawing of what you want to do. I don't know what orientation you have the mega, the size and shape of the designed pcb etc, so I have some ideas, but they are dependant on what is actual.
This is the designed PCB. Dimensions are like 17x11 cm. specific spacing has been given because some components didn't have library files available so i used a vernier caliper to measure the pin distance and will use female pins to attach them. Only issue is with the mega as the usb and power jack has pins beneath them which dosen't allow arduino pins to be in direct contact with pcb.
abc53:
Only issue is with the mega as the usb and power jack has pins beneath them which dosen't allow arduino pins to be in direct contact with pcb.
Get some of these and solder them to the new PCB, then desolder the headers on the mega and place them on the bed of nails, then solder the upper pins...
Perehama:
Get some of these and solder them to the new PCB, then desolder the headers on the mega and place them on the bed of nails, then solder the upper pins...
Extra-long break-away 0.1 16-pin strip male header (5 pieces) : ID 400 : $3.00 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits
So I just desolder the pins that are being used by mega, Remove the headers from mega and then place it on top of these pins(soldered onto pcb) and then solder the pins onto the arduino board right?
You need to post more information, like the orientation of the Mega as it mates with your board, because
looking at your board, the Mega would have to be upside down to mate with it.
raschemmel:
You need to post more information, like the orientation of the Mega as it mates with your board, because
looking at your board, the Mega would have to be upside down to mate with it.
I think we are looking at the top side of the PCB, which if the Mega is mounted atop it, it would be Mega's bottom to PCB's top. If the Mega is flipped upside down, then no need to desolder headers, just plug in.
Having said that, just get the pins that I linked before and solder them to the bottom of the PCB and plug the PCB into the top of the mega.
I think we are looking at the top side of the PCB, which if the Mega is mounted atop it, it would be Mega's bottom to PCB's top. If the Mega is flipped upside down, then no need to desolder headers, just plug in.
So far desoldeing headers has not come up for discussion.
The Mega female headers are on the top, and there is nothing on the bottom of the Mega that would permit connecting headers so the only way a Mega would mate with the OP's board is upside down, but he has not said anything about that yet.
Perehama:
I think we are looking at the top side of the PCB, which if the Mega is mounted atop it, it would be Mega's bottom to PCB's top. If the Mega is flipped upside down, then no need to desolder headers, just plug in.Having said that, just get the pins that I linked before and solder them to the bottom of the PCB and plug the PCB into the top of the mega.
Yup this is the top side of the PCB.
raschemmel:
So far desoldeing headers has not come up for discussion.The Mega female headers are on the top, and there is nothing on the bottom of the Mega that would permit connecting headers so the only way a Mega would mate with the OP's board is upside down, but he has not said anything about that yet.
I am ok with connecting the Arduino behind the PCB , So i will just have to solder the pins to the PCB and the pins can simply go in the female headers of the arduino.
Though I like the idea of removing the female headers of Arduino by de-soldering and soldering it to the top side of PCB but I don't know if that is possible or not.
But I don't get one thing, If the Mounting isn't possible why does eagle have a library file of Arduino mega?
Edit: Found this board without headers, Will De-soldering result in same precision for holes?
I'm still not seeing what your original plan was when you designed the PCB.
I am finding it a bit hard to believe that you did not address the mating issue when you
designed the PCB. Once again, the only plug and play way to mate the MEGA is to design a PCB
with the mirror image female headers on the top so they match the mega when it is upside down.
I hear you saying you are ok with this or that but I have not heard you state what your intention was when you designed it. Since you are posting and asking us, I have to ask,
- What was your plan ?
- Did you or did you not design you pcb to mate with the Mega using male-male headers
that plug in the top of your headers and then just flip the Mega upside down and push it onto
the male headers ? - If #2 is not the case, then are you aware of how problematic it is to attempt to desolder so
many header pins on the Mega ?
You would actually be safer to just use male male jumpers and set the two boards side by
side, rather than risk damaging the Mega trying to desolder the pins.
raschemmel:
I'm still not seeing what your original plan was when you designed the PCB.
I am finding it a bit hard to believe that you did not address the mating issue when you
designed the PCB. Once again, the only plug and play way to mate the MEGA is to design a PCB
with the mirror image female headers on the top so they match the mega when it is upside down.
I hear you saying you are ok with this or that but I have not heard you state what your intention was when you designed it. Since you are posting and asking us, I have to ask,
- What was your plan ?
- Did you or did you not design you pcb to mate with the Mega using male-male headers
that plug in the top of your headers and then just flip the Mega upside down and push it onto
the male headers ?- If #2 is not the case, then are you aware of how problematic it is to attempt to desolder so
many header pins on the Mega ?You would actually be safer to just use male male jumpers and set the two boards side by
side, rather than risk damaging the Mega trying to desolder the pins.
This was my first PCB design so yes I wasn't aware of the fact that mega had to be connected upside down. But when the PCB was printed I realized my mistake. The easiest solution for me is to connect the mega to the backside of PCB with Male headers, in that way I won't have desolder the pins. I can't use male jumpers and keep the two boards side by side. Though I have found Mega without the Female headers already soldered. Maybe I can use that this time. I will keep in mind about the mating issue next time for sure.
Sadly, you picked the wrong board.
What you wanted for this purpose - use in a "real world" project - was the "Mega 2560 Pro".
"Better late than never" I always say...
My first circuit board didn't work either: I forgot a crucial power connection. Fortunately it was not an expensive board so the only thing lost was 2 weeks.
Paul__B:
Sadly, you picked the wrong board.What you wanted for this purpose - use in a "real world" project - was the "Mega 2560 Pro".
Will this work Arduino Mega ??
abc53:
Will this work??
Not sure what you are asking. For your present problem, it seems what you need is the standard Mega 2560 board without the socket headers soldered, so that you can mount your own connecting pins to your PCB either with pins and sockets, or (perhaps longer) pins directly soldered in place. What you linked appears to be such a board without soldered pins.
Paul__B:
Sadly, you picked the wrong board.What you wanted for this purpose - use in a "real world" project - was the "Mega 2560 Pro".
I have decided to buy this, Just curious about whether the code will remain same or not?