Please note that the typical frankenso current is around 0.125A, and 0.700A is providing far more than is typically needed. While I had expected this could do 3A, it appears that 0.7A is about what it can do. We have far less validation of the performance at higher amp draw's. I thank you for providing additional real world validation data. I want my claims to be accurate. However we have a shoestring R+D budget, and it appears I may have made some mistakes about the claims. As well I believe the layout can do 3A, but would require more expensive components, which is a cost I believe most people would prefer to not have.
I just added the below to my copy of knownissues.txt to remind me to address this in the next spin of the board.
170) Q1002 seems to be thermally limited to about 0.7A. Make Q1002 have better thermal properties.
From the first video, I see Q1002 dropped about 2.6V. From this video I see Q1002 had about 1.5A running through it. So that's about 2.6V * 1.5A = 3.9W. Also that's 2.6V / 1.5A = 1.73 ohms. Per the Q1002 datasheet, I expect 81C/W, so 81C/W * 3.9W = 316C rise at the junction above the ambient. Your ambient is probably 25C, so I expect your reaching 341C. The operating limit is 150C. You say the solder melted which is a good indicator you have exceeded around 300C-ish. The best guess I have is that I didn't see this on mine because it must of had a lower ohms. Power = (I^2) R, so a small change in ohms can result in a large change in watts. If mine had say 1 ohm, then it would had about 2.25W instead of 3.9W. As well the board I tested had that larger footprint, so that likely had a better heat sink.
Hmmm, we can handle 150C - 85C = 65C rise. The 85C is an AEQ ambient spec which I design to. So at 81C/W, that means we can dissipate 65C / 81C/W = 0.8W. At 1.73 ohms, that's (P/R)^0.5 = (.8W/1.73ohm)^0.5 = 0.7A. Blah, that sucks. Based on what your telling me, I would only claim that circuit can handle 0.7A not 3.0A. What happened there? Can you measure your voltage between R1003 and D1002 relative to "GND" near JP08. That just seems so far out of whack that I don't know how I would not have seen it. I should have seen something that wrong. I wonder if something could be going wrong with the gate's voltage.
When I designed this, there were several people who poked me because I provided a supply that can do more than 0.5A. A standard linear regulator can only do around 0.5A, and I was being compared against such deigns. I decided to do this switcher supply, as it costs almost the same as a linear 0.5A, yet it offers more amps with less watts dissipated. Do you need the 3A? I expect it can do 3A, but it would likely need some different components, and perhaps some additional heat sinking.
I see that I suggest a 1A upstream fuse. This was consuming 1.5A. I suspect the Q1001 is not operating at peak efficiency, which is resulting in some additional amps being consumed by the upstream fuse. We could keep the supply amps lower if we use better more costly inductors. As well we could use one of the other P-MOSFET's which has a lower internal Rds. Both of these changes would decrease the watts dissipated by the circuit, and allow for a higher output amps.
Please keep in mind this is just a hobby for us. We don't have extensive R+D budgets. We try to not make false claims and we try to verify the claims before we make them. However it appears I fell short on this one. I designed it based on predictions found in datasheets, then someone else built the units, which I spot checked with limited equipment. I believe it was doing what I noted on the schematic. If it's is not, then I'm interested in learning what it does, such that at minimum I can correct the claims and expectations. I would like to either update the schematic claims, or change components such that it meets the schematic claims. If you have suggestions on how to get more amps out of it, I'm all ears. As well if you have real world data which indicate it is not meeting the notes claimed on the schematic, I'm also all ears. To me it appears your board is providing more like 0.7A (perhaps 1.0 A as the ohm comes down when it gets colder), not 3A capabilities. Does 0.7A meet your needs? Do you need 3A? I'm tempted to change the schematic notes such that it reads 0.7A output, up to 3A with some component changes. I also plan to add thermal via's on the next spin of this board. That should help, but probably not very much.
Hmmm, I see the 8-lead DFN has a 29C/W, while the DPAK has 81C/W. That's not normal. Typically the DPAK with it's larger thermal pad has better thermal characteristics.
Most people who get the kit, are looking for the shoestring budget. Heck most people are looking for the shoestring budget when it comes these kinds of projects. The china chip costs less than $0.50, and the OEM chip is above $5.75. I expect the kits and pre-populated boards use the china component as it is good enough for most needs and it helps keep the costs low. I would expect enhancements can be found if the OEM chips are used.
Would you be willing and interested in substituting some components? It appears you have more and better equipment at your disposal than I do. I might guess your in a college lab, as most commercial environments aren't that clean.