ECE 480 PROJECT AND LABORATORY GUIDELINES
Welcome
to ECE 480 laboratory. The ECE480 lab is considered an open lab. Open labs
allow you to work at any time with the exception of when there is a scheduled
lab. NOTE: Except from 8:00am until 5:00p, no student
may ever be in the lab ALONE. At all
other times, if the next-to-last person in the lab leaves, so must the last
person, for safety and security reasons. Access is obtained via a keyless entry
system; the course instructor will furnish you with the key code. It is
anticipated that the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will
provide everything you need to complete your design project. In the course of
your design project you will be utilizing many resources available from ECE
Technical Services, also known as the Shop.
The
Shop is located in room 3234 and staff offices are located in room 3231. Shop hours vary, but assistance is generally
available from 8 A.M. to 12 P.M. and 1 P.M. to 5 P.M M-F. You can also email your questions or request
to eceshop@egr.msu.edu. Additional information can also be found at the ECE
Technical Services web page: www.egr.msu.edu/eceshop. Roxanne Peacock, the technician who orders
parts entered through the electronic system, is located in room 3207, and her
phone number is 2-3336.
The
ECE 480 laboratory has twenty benches, each with a computer (Windows XP), test
and measurement equipment, including an “ICD” in-circuit debugger and
programmer for the microprocessor in the parts kit, and basic hand tools.
Students will be assigned a bench for use during scheduled labs in the first
half of the semester. Each student is
responsible for the equipment/documentation at his/her bench, and if something
is missing or broken at the beginning of a scheduled lab, must report it to the
lab instructor at that time, or it becomes the responsibility of that student. Resistors, capacitors, wire, etc., are
available from a common location in the lab, and each student is responsible
for replacing those components in their proper drawers and for discarding
excess wire/insulation.
Teams
that have special hardware and software needs not currently available in the
lab should contact Brian Wright via email at eceshop@egr.msu.edu, no later than the mid point of the
semester.
Also
available in the laboratory are soldering irons, test leads, wire, and storage
lockers. The ECE Shop assigns storage
lockers and padlocks (see below).
In
addition to the parts cabinet and supply of donated parts in the laboratory,
some items needed for your project are available from the Shop: breadboards,
solder, screws, nuts, duct tape, electrical tape, general TTL and linear ICs,
IC sockets, diodes, L.E.D.s, oscillators, batteries, fuses, fuse holders, etc.
However, other parts will need to be ordered from outside vendors. When requesting
hardware and parts from the Shop it is best to have a list in hand before you
arrive at the door. The team’s lab coordinator is normally responsible for
ordering and tracking of parts from the Shop.
The Shop staff will check to see if the items needed are available from
the Shop stock room. If an item is not on-hand, it will need to be ordered.
Orders can be submitted at the ECE Shop web page (www.egr.msu.edu/eceshop) and
must include the following information:
·
Your name and email address
·
Team number
·
Part number (including the package designation on IC’S – avoid SMD
unless absolutely necessary )
·
Manufacturer name
·
Distributor name and telephone number, if known
You
should allow one to two weeks for delivery. Some orders arrive sooner, but always
plan on a minimum of one week. ECE-preferred electronic parts distributors are
Allied Electronics (www.alliedelec.com),
Digikey Electronics (www.digikey.com) and Newark Electronics (http://www.newark.com/. Other preferred
vendors are MSU Stores, (universitystores.msu.edu), W.
Laptop PC for Each Team
Each
ECE 480 team will be issued a laptop computer for their use during the course. The primary purpose is to provide the team a
place where they can install whatever software they need for their team
project, without waiting for ECE Shop or DECS personnel to install it on a
machine in the smaller lab room, as was done in the past. Care, security, and safe return of these
laptops is the joint responsibility of each team. Brian Wright will issue each team a laptop
during week two of the semester. The
person responsible for the PC should be agreed upon by the team at any point –
it should never be left sitting out in the lab.
All hardware and software problems encountered should first be addressed with the laboratory instructor. If that person is not available, or it is after 5 P.M., please send email to the appropriate email address listed below. When reporting any problem via email, be as specific as possible. Be sure to provide the name of the computer, the bench number, and where appropriate, the model number of the equipment being used. Include details of what led up to the problem encountered, the problem itself, and what you did to try to correct the problem. Please report problems to the following:
Software
problems: cpe_help@egr.msu.edu
Hardware
or problems of unknown nature: eceshop@egr.msu.edu
Important
note: 100% of the unreported problems remain unresolved.
No
reimbursements will be processed unless authorization, prior to the purchase,
is obtained from Roxanne Peacock, 3207EB, 2-3336, peacock@egr.msu.edu.
Digital
cameras are available for loan so that you may document your project (check
with the ECE Shop or Vanessa Mitchner in the ECE Office). The loan period is 4
hours. There are no weekend loans and all cameras must be returned to the Shop
by 4 p.m. Friday, regardless of the time they were checked out. In addition,
the cameras are for use in the
Oscilloscope
probes are not interchangeable due to the X10 sensing feature built into the
probes. Always make sure you are using the correct probes when making a
measurement.
All
equipment and parts requisitioned from the Shop are the property of the ECE
Department and must be returned to the Shop, unless it is to be furnished with
the prototype to the sponsor.
Parts/prototypes/equipment/locks must be returned to the Shop and the
signed receipt for them returned to Goodman’s mailbox no later than noon, Wednesday, April 30,
or the team will all receive I – Incomplete grades.
Only
software currently available on the machines and CPE servers can be used in the
main lab room. In the side room are several
PC’s where it is possible to load additional software, with permission. It is your responsibility to back up your
files on these systems, which are not on the network.
You
may also find a need to utilize the Engineering Machine Shop. The Engineering
Machine Shop is located in room B250 Engineering and has limited hours when
their services and equipment are available for student projects. Safety glasses or goggles are required to
work in the Engineering Machine Shop.
It is your responsibility for furnishing your own safety glasses or
goggles. Safety goggles can be purchased at the MSU Book Store located in the
Engineering
Machine Shop Rules
SAFETY GLASSES with side shields are to be
worn at times while in the machine shop. Prescription glasses must be fitted
with side shields. There are no exceptions to this rule. Students working in
the machine shops must furnish their own safety glasses.
·
All jewelry must be removed from hands, wrists, neck and ears.
·
Loose fitting clothing or clothing that does not protect the body, legs
and feet (i.e. neck ties, shorts, torn pants, tennis shoes, sandals) from hot
metal chips, falling tools or parts, are not allowed.
·
Reckless behavior will not be tolerated.
·
No food or drinks are allowed on the machine shop floor.
·
Students will sign in each time they begin working in the shop and
record the specific machine, by number, that is being used.
·
Tools that are not standard issue must be signed out.
·
Students are to check over the machine they are using for proper
operating conditions and for proper clean up.
·
Before starting work, test to make sure that all emergency shut-off
switches and brakes work properly. Check to make sure that chucks, vises, and
other
fixtures or attachments are secured
properly.
·
Only ONE person is to operate a machine at a time.
·
Students will NEVER leave a machine while it is operating.
·
Report all breakage to the instructor so that repairs or replacements
can be made.
·
Notify the instructor when leaving the shop to take a break, use the
bathroom, etc.
·
Before leaving the shop, students must thoroughly clean and wipe down
each machine they have used and return all tools to their proper location. This
includes wiping out the oil that may accumulate on the base of the machine. The
floor around the machines are to be completely swept. No tools, such as drills,
files, rulers, etc., are to be left out on any machine.
·
DO NOT use compressed air to clean or blow chips off machines.
Particles can be blown into the face and cause injury. Particles are also
driven between the sliding surfaces of the machine causing damage.
·
The instructor MUST check the condition of the machine and be certain
that all tools specific to the machine are back in the machine cabinet before
the student leaves the shop.
·
Sign out when you have completed your machine work and the instructor
has checked the condition of your machine.
·
Steel scrap must be kept separate from all other trash. Scrap Steel and
Trash barrels are clearly marked on the barrels themselves.
·
Above all, use caution and good sense when in any industrial
environment.