🛠 Assembly Guide

This guide describes the minimal and observable assembly process
for the aitl-physical-reference PCB.

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🔧 Required Tools

Prepare the following basic tools before assembly:

• 🔥 Soldering iron (fine tip recommended)
• 🧷 Tweezers (for 0603 handling)
• 🧪 Flux (improves solder wetting)
• 📏 Multimeter (continuity / voltage check)

No specialized equipment is required.

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🧩 Assembly Steps

Follow the steps in order to maintain clarity and avoid rework.

1. 🧮 Solder R1 (0603 resistor)
   • Acts as the current-limiting physical constraint
2. 💡 Solder D1 (LED)
   • ⚠️ Pay attention to polarity
   • Align the cathode marking with the PCB symbol
3. 📍 Solder TP1 (Test Point Pad)
   • Provides a direct voltage observation point
4. 🔌 (Optional) Solder J1 (Power Header)
   • Used for external +5V / GND supply connection
   • May be omitted if power is supplied via probes

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👁 Visual & Electrical Check

After assembly, perform the following checks:

• ✅ No solder bridges between pads
• ✅ LED orientation is correct
• ✅ Test point is not shorted to GND
• 🔍 Electrical path should be:

+5V → R1 → D1 → GND

• 📏 Continuity through R1 + D1 path only

These checks ensure a clean logic → physics mapping
before power is applied.

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Assembly is intentionally simple.
If something feels “too clever,” it is probably unnecessary.

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🟦 v1 Assembly Intent — Boundary Preservation

Assembly in v1 must preserve the board’s role as a
logical–physical boundary reference.

The goal is not correctness of function,
but clarity of physical meaning.

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🔌 Boundary Awareness During Assembly

When assembling v1, keep the following intent in mind:

• Components do not implement logic
• They only expose physical consequences of logic
• Orientation, placement, and solder quality affect measurement truth

This board must remain boringly obvious.

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📛 Boundary Signal Consideration

If a boundary pin or pad labeled LOGIC_OUT is present:

• Treat it as a pure voltage injection point
• Do not add pull-ups, filters, or protection circuits
• Do not reinterpret it as a “control signal”

LOGIC_OUT exists only to answer:

What voltage and current appear in copper
when logic asserts a state?

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🚫 What NOT to Add (v1 Rule)

During assembly, do not:

• ❌ Add wires, bodges, or jumpers
• ❌ Change resistor value “to make it brighter”
• ❌ Stack components or piggyback parts
• ❌ Optimize for visibility or aesthetics

Any such change breaks reference equivalence.

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🔒 Assembly Stability Rule

Once assembled as v1:

• The physical meaning of each part must not change
• Rework is allowed only to restore original intent
• Any enhancement belongs to v2 or another board

Assembly errors are corrected.
Design intent is not negotiated.

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🧠 AITL Alignment

Within AITL, assembly corresponds to:

• 🧠 Logic: already decided elsewhere
• 🛠 Assembly: fixes meaning into matter
• 📏 Measurement: confirms existence

Assembly is where abstraction becomes irreversible.