Design of a Power Module for a micromouse application

 

Background

 In my third year of Engineering, I had finally entered into my first ever design course. From what I had heard, these were the toughest courses in the degree program for any engineering field, so I knew that I had my work cut-out for me. This was the first course where we were introduced to design principles and how to apply them to a real-life project.

The Task

We were tasked to work in groups of 2 to each design a module that would contribute towards a micromouse. A micromouse is a little robot that is designed to navigate a maze to both find the correct path to complete the maze without knowing the path beforehand, as well as to navigate through the correct path in the fastest way possible. 

One of the modules that we were tasked to design were the navigation sensing system, which my partner designed. This would essentially be the eyes of the micromouse in order to navigate through the maze and detect where the walls of the maze were.

The other module was the power module, which is what I designed. This was responsible for the powering of all the other modules by ensuring that the battery was connected to all other modules and was able to be charged. This module was also responsible to ensure that the motors of the micromouse were able to be powered and move in any direction that was required.

Example of a micromouse with all the modules



The Design

The designing involved researching potential components that would prove useful for the final design in order to meet all of the requirements of the power system module. This dealt with researching and reading datasheets for many components in order to decide which components would best suit the project based on meeting the requirements and falling within the strict budget.

With all of the components selected, the printed circuit board (PCB) was designed in a circuit board designing tool called KiCAD. This would allow the shape and size of the board to be designed and the position of all the components planned until the final product was designed will all components connected appropriately.
Circuit schematics for all sections of the PCB
PCB design in the CAD software
3D model of PCB to be printed




After the circuit board was designed, it was time to send it off the JLCPCB. They are a PCB sourcing and printing company. The components were ordered through them and the circuit board was printed and assembled with all components by them.

Testing

The boards were then shipped to us and we were able to test whether they met the requirements that were set out in the project. This was done in the lab by testing points in the circuit to determine the voltage and current levels when the motors were operating, when the battery was charging or when the device was just on or off.

Final printed circuit board




Example of a testing procedure done


What I learnt

This project really was about getting thrown in the deep end and trying your best to navigate through all of those challenges. This was the first time that I had been exposed to this level of design thinking and the first time that I was tasked to complete a project of this scale.

The key skills that I learnt were:
  • How to define the scope of a project by detailing the requirements, specifications and constraints of the project
  • How to adequately plan your design based on the time limitations that you may have
  • How to effectively choose components specifically for electronics projects
  • Gaining proficiency in electronics-based CAD software such as KiCAD
  • Developing effective testing methods to ensure that what you produce meets the requirements that you set out to do and planning for all of this in the design phase of a project
  • How to write a report that explains and details an engineering project

More information

If you would like to know more about the specific details about this project, you can find my final report here:


The github link to our github repository for this project can be found here: