Experience Building MTC4PF mini

[Ulrich Schneider]

First, massive credit to the designer of the board and the casing. It works as it should!!

tl;dr
– order cases using https://craftcloud3d.com/, selecting standard resin
– buy 0805-sized SMDs, NOT 1206
– be prepared to use a sanding tool so everything fits

Long version:
I have built MLC mini and MLC mega before, but this one was by far the hardest.

First, I ordered the boards using https://jlcpcb.com/, as recommended. There were no issues, and the boards were high quality. I will order there again. Note that the minimum number of PCB boards is 5, so you should buy the rest of the material for five controllers.

Second, I used https://craftcloud3d.com/ to print the cases as I do not own a resin printer. I used “Standard Resin” as material and gray as a color. The printing company I chose got back to me because some margins are too slim and might result in unexpected results. I confirmed that they should print it as sent. All five cases were of supreme quality, and there were no issues. However, I do not advise choosing a printing offer from outside the EU as I had to pay additional fees that doubled the price. I ordered from China and will not do so for printing again.

Third, I started soldering the SMDs on the boards. The instructions state that the boards are made for size 1206. I found that 1206 just fit on the spots without leaving an area for soldering. Thus, I ordered size 0805, and they fit much, much better. I highly recommend buying 0805!!!! I purchased mine from reichelt.de and had them delivered within a day.

Fourth, they had to be placed into the case after soldering all the elements and the chip to the board. Three out of five were too large to fit in the case without further adjustments. I ground out a tiny bit from the bottom where the chip touched it. After the grinding, all five fit perfectly.

Again, big thanks to the Mattzobricks team. This website made me dive deep into LEGO trains again. It is such a joy!

[Autor]

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