Assembly Of The Hive Hardware
A short guide on how to assemble your Hive testrack.
Generally the Target Stack Shield and Probe Stack Shield are possible to be soldered by hand. Using flux is recommended to solder the small pins of the M.2 PCIE connector and the bus switches. The status LED of the Target Stack Shield cannot be soldered using a soldering iron but are possible to solder using a hot air station.
If you intend to hand solder the Daughterboards please check beforehand if that is possible (BGA packages etc.) for your selection. Otherwise special equipment like a hot air station or reflow oven is required.
If you intend to mount the Daughterboards by using screws you can skip this section.
It is strongly recommended to glue the magnets onto the PCBs before assembling the Hive testrack in order to achieve a proper bond. On the Target Stack Shields the Magnets should have a height between 2.5mm and max. 3mm in order to ensure a proper connection on the M.2 PCIE connector.
The Magnets should be glued at the following positions of the Target Stack Shield and Daughterboard:
Before the gluing of the magnets make sure that you glue them in at the right polarity! The overall recommended polarity for any Hive testrack is shown in the picture below. This way your Daughterboards and testracks stay compatible with any other Hive testrack using magnets for mounting the Daughterboards.
As there is a M2.5 pass through hole at those positions for the optional screw mounting it is recommended to keep the PCBs in the air during gluing so that excessive glue inside the pass through hole can drop onto the working surface without accidentally gluing the PCB onto the working surface. This can be done by simply using two pieces of wood (or anything else) to put the PCBs on there while keeping the gluing area in the open.
Please make sure to wait the recommended hardening period of the glue before applying any force onto the magnets.
Before you assemble the testrack it is mandatory to set the solder bridges of the Target Stack Shields to their respective positions. Please use the instructions on the silkscreen as a reference:
Please use the image below as reference to assemble the testrack. It is recommended to start at the top and work down to the Raspberry Pi. This way it is easier to connect the stack connectors.
