Building Pedals FAST

[jishnudg]

Not mass production or anything, I'm just thinking of ways I can speed up my perfboard and prototyping times - - I gave the search page a go and got a lot of varying opinions on this (few offboard components, more offboard components etc) - - but didn't see any dedicated threads on the subject. What are the best practices all the veterans here have developed to reduce the time taken between pencil sketch schematic and boxed pedal?

[deadastronaut]

Some things just cant be rushed...

if your making a small run, make a template from card, wood etc
of how your pedal will be inside...

but build it on the template..then dropvit all in your box.

this helps get wires the correct length...and makes the fibal
build a lot more easy and tidy at the same time...

[italianguy63]

As Rob said--

If I end up making more than one of something... I tend to make notes, such as how long the wires need to be (as an example Wah modificaton for true-bypass wiring).  I also color code wires the same from project to project...

If you get real froggy, do 2 or 3 at a time... i.e. do all the PCB population at once, then all the off-board wiring, all the enclosures... like that.

MC

[~arph]

Reduce wires.. try board mounted pots, yes a little more complicated to do a layout for, but it saves you a lot of time clipping, stripping, tinning, soldering wires.

[samhay]

Why the rush? If you don't enjoy the process, then why are you doing it in the first place?
If it is because you can't wait to hear the effect, then buy a breaboard.

[Kipper4]

Take a leaf out of Johns book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaa5xABMr4o

[amptramp]

If you want a build to go fast, slow down.

I have worked at a number of places where the corporate motto may as well have been "Never time to do it right, always time to do it again."

Make sure you have generated enough documentation of what you intend to do that you can just follow your own instructions easily because once you start yourself in motion, your IQ plummets.  You need a schematic, board layout and assembly diagram as a minimum.

[Kipper4]

Just kidding
I've had much less time debugging since I slowed down and a bonus is I enjoy the build process more.
A wire stripper has dramatically  cut down off board too.

[Mac Walker]

Process layout.  Organize your tools so they are all in arms reach.  Make a tool holder out of a 2 x 4.  Do you kit your parts or pull them one at a time as needed? Which is better? 

Put your wire on a spool reel.  Invest in a decent wire stripper, the type that auto pulls the insulation (my best purchase in the past six months....will never go back to the old manual style).  Mount the wire stripper sideways on a base, just in front of the spools of wire.  Hit the handle with your right hand while holding the wire with your left hand.

Posterboard sized schematic/connection diagram...decent lighting.

You said no mass production, but even for one offs I think all these go a long way.

[smallbearelec]

I developed the Bare Box platform

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/the-bare-box-1/

to have a consistent environment for prototyping and construction. Combined with some Molex connectors and pre-terminated leads, it is a very efficient way to both prototype and build small pedals. I have also found it helpful and efficient to have a .diy file in Layout Creator with input, output, power and switch connections in standard positions...See the Layouts Gallery here.

I'm working now on a platform that is more of a "BB" size.

Regards
SD

[Thecomedian]

Smallbear, that link doesn't seem to be working for me..

[bluebunny]

I think the "/file" bit in Steve's post may have been a typo.  Here it is:

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/the-bare-box-1

[smallbearelec]

Smallbear, that link doesn't seem to be working for me..

Apologies! Fixed now.

[vigilante397]

I developed the Bare Box platform

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/the-bare-box-1/

to have a consistent environment for prototyping and construction. Combined with some Molex connectors and pre-terminated leads, it is a very efficient way to both prototype and build small pedals. I have also found it helpful and efficient to have a .diy file in Layout Creator with input, output, power and switch connections in standard positions...See the Layouts Gallery here.

This one is excellent for prototyping and tweaking layouts, kind of like a more durable and convenient breadboard

[petemoore]

  I perfboarded a FF in less than a half an hour, repeating the process many times before makes popping one together a short process. Another quick FF build took many hours to debug.
  A testing/debugging/tweeking platform makes the connections easy [In/Out/Grounds] to plug in, the alligator clips from the in/out jacks to the circuit under test mounted in the box which serves as a stand for the insulated test-tray...quickens the process.
 

[duck_arse]

If you want a build to go fast, slow down.

I have worked at a number of places where the corporate motto may as well have been "Never time to do it right, always time to do it again."

Make sure you have generated enough documentation of what you intend to do that you can just follow your own instructions easily because once you start yourself in motion, your IQ plummets.  You need a schematic, board layout and assembly diagram as a minimum.

do it once, do it well, help build a better australia.

geeze, I can't go slow enough. what amptramp says, document everything, until you have so much written and drawn and diagrammmed and color coded that things start falling together by themselves. or something.