# Students Tackle PCB Design Challenge: From Schematic to Robot

- Show: [OnTrack](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack)
- Published: 2025-09-16
- Length: 30m
- Episode: 311
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot
- Listen: https://podcast.altium.com/e/students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot/

## Summary

University of Minnesota students Ethan Chung, Kevin Vo, and Alexander Wan discuss their line-following robot project for the Bright Manufacturing Challenge, detailing their transition from schematics to manufacturing custom PCBs. They explain their use of Altium Designer to create a main chassis board and a specialized flex-rigid PCB for encoder positioning, highlighting the technical decision to use a secondary microcontroller to comply with competition rules. The team shares lessons learned from their first manufacturing attempt, specifically regarding microcontroller documentation errors and the unexpected high cost of 4-layer flex-rigid boards, while outlining their path toward the final assembly and testing rounds in Chicago.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=0) Introduction: Ethan Chung, Kevin Vo, and Alexander Wan
- [3:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=180) Bright Manufacturing Challenge Overview and Robot Design
- [9:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=555) Transitioning from Schematics to PCB Layout
- [10:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=641) First PCB Failure: Microcontroller Documentation Errors
- [14:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=860) Flex-Rigid PCB Design and Stackup Challenges
- [18:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=1089) Altium Design Walkthrough: Main Chassis and Power
- [22:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=1333) Secondary MCU and Flex-Rigid PCB for Encoders
- [26:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot#t=1584) Lessons Learned: Cost, Battery, and Future Iterations

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch

## Mentioned

- Altium (company)
- Altium Designer (tool)
- Onshape (tool)
- Bright Manufacturing Challenge (other)
- SMTA (company)
- University of Minnesota (other)
- ChatGPT (tool)
- Perplexity (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [257: Small Parts Flew Everywhere](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2018-08-24-257-small-parts-flew-everywhere) (Embedded.fm)
- [Bob Widlar, Electronic Design, FIRST Robotics - Monday, Meta Monday](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2011-03-08-bob-widlar-electronic-design-first-robotics-monday-meta-monday) (The Amp Hour)
- [44: Light Up Strikes Back](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-03-26-44-light-up-strikes-back) (Embedded.fm)
- [Eurocircuits PCB Contest Winners, Maker Faire Rome 2022, LattePanda Giveaway!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-electromaker-show/2022-10-21-eurocircuits-pcb-contest-winners-maker-faire-rome-2022-lattepanda-giveaway) (The Electromaker Show)
- [92: Everybody Behave, Please](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-03-11-92-everybody-behave-please) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2025-09-16-students-tackle-pcb-design-challenge-from-schematic-to-robot. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to OnTrack.