Optimized Rocketry Computer Assembly
This is in partnership with Dhalwani Designs, which holds all rights, data, and procedures for this project and the related.
Researcher: Wilson Dhalwani
Aides: Victor Samarkone (BCA) & Mr. Michael Liva (BCA) & Mr. Joseph Barbetta (BCA)
Context: Dhalwani Designs Sanctioned Project, Senior Capstone, and Electrical Engineering Research Project
Project Name: The Optimized Rocketry Computer Assembly
Start Date: June 06, 2023
The following repository is for documenting and sharing my work in this research and capstone project and its related fields of electrical and avionics engineering. This was also made to record my process of solving the issue at hand so that others can learn and build upon my work. The O.R.C.A was inspired by work and research with various competitive rocketry teams, who came with concerns for traditional flight computers, which tended to be large, involved, and bulky, affecting performance and technical usage. This led to me going down a rabbit hole of avionics and the niche community that came with flight computer design. After spending hours in KiCAD, EAGLE, and JLCPCB Assembly Libraries, I found myself intrigued by the idea of an ultra-compact, one that was far smaller than the conventional flight computer and many times more capable. And, after many weeks of research and design, I came up with the first prototype for O.R.C.A, a board that was 60 mm by 72 mm, however, this was not good enough. Small was the name of the game, and with the discovery of 0402 SMD components, I managed to bring it down to less than 47 mm by 34 mm, small enough to fight in the palm of your hand! I would eventually bring this work over, as part of my Senior Engineering Capstone (yes, I am ahead of schedule), to hopefully share my work in avionics so that others could be inspired by what I did, and collaborate towards even smaller boards. The evolution of Printed Circuit Board design is at its peak, and the innovation in the electronics industry is mesmerizing, allowing for some cool creations and hopefully even more compact and powerful designs in the future. With that being said, optimized is used loosely, as I am sure in a month or so, we will have components even smaller than 0201 generally available, especially with the recent advances in Flex PCBs. I completely designed the entire system, top-down, using KiCAD, snapEDA for parts libraries, and JLCPCB for SMD component libraries. The amazing thing about this board, despite its size and power, is its capability and the ability to be applied to many scenarios and uses. With the great populace of onboard sensors, abundant and expandable memory, and the amazing MCU, this board can be programmed for rockets, drones, and more. Currently, time is being spent on updating and improving firmware, and work is currently being done on a new and improved version 4.0, so be on the lookout for that in the coming months! This project has no end date as an innovation never ends, rather, continues until the idea is forgotten, and my hope is that this work can be the basis for future engineers who, too, find great excitement in innovation and design.
Should you have any questions, comments, or just wish to reach out, email me at wilson.dhalwani@gmail.com !