This repository is dedicated to our PCB supplier JLCPCB.
Back in 2012 our founders started Aquaphoton Academy as an entirely student-run team based in Alexandria University in Egypt. The aim of the academy is to build an efficient ROV from scratch every year which is capable of almost anything that a mainstream industrial ROV can do at a fraction of the cost, in order to participate annually in local and international competitions. We have been using SMD components in our boards’ design in order to maintain the small size and high functionality of our ROV’s electrical system. Thanks to JLC's high quality manufacturing, wide experience, capability of achieving low clearances, and their competitive pricing, we were able to implement a top-notch electrical system inside our ROV. The electrical system of 2022 consists of five 2-layer PCBs and one 4-layer PCB. The 4-layer PCB made it possible to route the high current tracks needed for the thrusters with minimum impedance and the 2-layer PCBs, that acted as the control units for our system, were designed to be as dense as possible to accommodate the restricted space inside the ROV's canister.
In brief, our system consists of:
-The Power Distribution System that is implemented on the Backplane PCB which acts as the base of the electrical system as it connects all other PCBs as one unit.
-The Communication System PCB that is primarily in control of the thrusters. It is connected to all other nodes in the system via CAN communication protocol.
-The Feedback System PCB is equipped with a variety of sensors that grants the ROV an overall awareness of its surroundings.
-The Vision System PCB that links to five cameras providing different points of view.
-The Top-Side Control Unit PCB that is directly connected to the tether, acting as the main communication node between both the station’s laptops and the ROV.
Ordering a PCB from JLCPCB is a simple process through their user-friendly system.
These are the steps to place an order at JLCPCB :
-Open the JLCPCB website, and register an account or simply log in.
-In the home page there is a quotation calendar that will display an ordering page, the customer is asked to enter the size of PCB required, quantity, layers, and thickness of their choice.
-The customer is required to enter the PCB board details on the online calculator to get the price of the items. Also, there is the minimum price which is the cheapest one for a PCB.
-The next step is to upload your Gerber file and a very small customer ID is always added to the PCB to distinguish the PCB order from all others.
-The system will analyze the Gerber file to confirm the dimensions and layers of the board.
-Gerber viewer is a tool to show the design of your PCB, customers are advised to confirm the Gerber file carefully for any errors, after checking and confirming the errors just click “save to cart”.
-JLCPCB gives you the option to order multiple PCBs after saving to cart the first PCB. All you need is to click “add new item”, repeat the same steps then add them to your cart.
-In your cart you can view all the details of the PCBs ordered, including the price of each one of them, their specifications, and all the number of PCBs ordered.
-After viewing all the details in the cart and seeing all the PCBs you wanted click the “checkout securely” button.
-On the checkout menu add your shipping address where all the PCBs are to be shipped, the country where the PCBs are shipped determines the rates, also the shipping options are found on the same page just below the address. The shipping methods available are DHL and Airmail. Note that both of them vary in delivery time.
-JLCPCB offers two kinds of payment methods
1-Pay directly: this is the most recommended method of payment by the company, it is recommended since it ensures the high efficiency of manufacturing. If the customer file has not been reviewed for production, you will get a refund.
2-Review before payment: one can pay after the file has been approved. In this method, the design will not be produced until payment is made. Results of the review will be made through email. It is recommended to pay as soon as the file is approved to avoid delivery delays. When the file is not approved the order is automatically canceled.
-When the order payment is made the company arranges the production where you can go through your “ACCOUNT” menu to track your order status.
Lastly, JLC is sincerely appreciated for providing us with premium quality products and excellent service. Our team is looking forward to future cooperation.