With the current FlowIO design, would it be possible to add on an additional port (5 -> 6) without making major changes to the design? That is to say, would the PCB designs (including the Sensors++ board) and a large portion of the internals need to be drastically modified to account for the extra port? Or would a simple extension to the PCBs and wider frame be adequate?
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Modification of Existing Design for Additional Port
Modification of Existing Design for Additional Port
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Hi Austin, adding an additional port won't require a very drastic modification of the PCBs. For example, we can reroute one of the pins that are now going to the expansion port to instead be driving an additional port valve. So hardware-wise it's a pretty minor modification.
This would also then require modifying each layer of the software stack and the libraries. The main complication would be in having to do this each time a new software update to the FlowIO is made.
A more cost-effective approach for 6-ports is to create two FlowIO devices with 3 ports each, operating them synchronously. This won't require any changes to the hardware or software architecture.