Board Fabrication and Assembly Guide for Data Gators

All the information below is meant to guide anybody through the process and various methods available for making your own Data Gator board.

Table of Contents

Link	Description
Overview	Enumerates the basic steps for having a board manufactured and then assembling it.
Terms and Definitions	Terms used in these guides to describe the process of producing fully functional Data Gators.
Fabrication	Guide with steps for ordering PCBs from several 3rd party fab houses.
Assembly	Guide for the process of assembling surface mount components.
Through-Hole Assembly	Guide for soldering through-hole components.
Adding Final Boards and Enclosures	Links and guide for assembling an enclosure for your Data Gator board.

Overview

1. optional modify schematics and designs
2. Have PCBs Fabricated

3. Assemble PCBs

   • Apply solder paste.
   • Place components.
   • Use hot plate/reflow oven/soldering iron to solder components.
   • Check components for bridges with magnifying glass and rework with soldering iron to remove bridges.
4. Solder through-hole components.

5. Connect separate boards and make cables.

   • Add solar power manager
   • Add battery fuel gauge
6. optional apply antenna mod for external antenna

Terms and Definitions

A few terms are defined below to hopefully make this more readable for those with minimal prior experience. If you have questions and would like to see this guide expanded in some way, please create an issue for the repository and ask away!

Term	Definition
Fabrication	Refers to having a printed circuit board (PCB) manufactured without components, simply a layered board with vias and pads for components. Not something you should attempt yourself, this part of the process must be contracted through a third-party fab house.
Assembly	Refers to the process of installing components (surface mount and through-hole) on the PCB. Surface mount components often require more knowledge or special equipment to solder while through-hole components can usually be soldered with just a soldering iron and solder! This guide addresses some methods for those without the optimal equipment to get the job done with some simple and not too unusual tools that can be acquired cheaply.
Reflow	Heating up solder to the point that it “flows” to form a solder joint between the component and the board pad.