Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok...

[Theory?]

So I know I've had all these stupid questions, but my friend and I are finally ready to build an LC.

We want to try and create a very effecient, compact design, so we want to try and place all the modules on one board.

Would this be a good idea?  Has this been done before?  Any design tips to get this accomplished better?

[doc]

Hallo and welcome on board.

Has this been done before?

Yes, almost. I'm working on another (large) LC at the moment. For this I designed the whole LC box (8 channels) on one panel. Actually it's 2 boards. One board is housing all the encoders, switches and displays with the DINs & DOUTs. On the backside of this board sticks another board (directly connected as a doughterboard) which houses the CORE, the MF and several DIN / DOUTS for further connections (i.e. transport, remote control).

The first 8 channel strip is ready.

The motorfaders are frontpanelmounted because there was no way to implement them on the board (ALPS).

You're idea to put everything on one board is doable but it is hard work.

You have to redesign all modules in SMD then arrange it it on the board. If you want to etch the boards by yourself you will also need two double-layer boards. (If you design a 4-layer board, the it would be able to put everything on one board).

It is hard work for a first project!

If you have trouble on the way, let us know.

greets

Doc

[MRE]

Well, I would say it is doable on a single side board. If all the circuit traces and circuit components were mounted on one side, with all knobs and buttons and such mounted on the 'blank' side of the board. (Pot circuit pads would be on the same side as the logic chips and reistor packs)

Certainly, there would have to be some jumpers, and absolutely the components would all have to be SMT!

Doable, but a HARD project. I guess it depends on how many pots/leds/encoders/buttons etc. you need.

One possible way to do it would be to have all main electronics on one smaller dual side SMT board and all IO (direct wires to controls) going to a 2 x 40 connector like for an IDE drive (I have built a few projects where I used IDE drive cables.. one had 29 buttons).

Would certainly be beyond the scope of the free version of Eagle.

[Theory?]

I'm really talking more about having a single board with all the mounted components for the core, DIN, DOUT, etc. modules on that can be mounted on risers in the base of the chassis.

From there I would run the wires from the appropriate points to all the pots and the LCD, LED's and faders etc. which I guess would be mounted on the front panel.

The idea is just to conserve space and keep it looking much cleaner inside.

[MRE]

ohh well.. that would certainly be pretty easy to do. One at a time Import the circuits from eagle all onto one sheet and make the direct connections where the header pins would have gone.

It WOULD exceed the free version size of Eagle, so you ould either need to purchase it or recreate from scratch in you prefered PCB app.

You might want to consider a few changes. If you are comfy with SMT work then that would certainly reduce the size.

I would suggest that you map all the connections to one or two IDE drive cables.

One small SMT pcb with core, 3 DINS, 3 DOUTS, and 3 AINS would be pretty sweet kit actually (as much SMT as possible).

This COULD be realized with the free Eagle as 3 or 4 seperate boards that are bussed with an IDE cable. Might be a fun project. See how many DINS you can fit on one 4 by 4...  (contemplates Eagle fun...)