ESP32 PCB questions

All ESP32 boards running MicroPython.
Target audience: MicroPython users with an ESP32 board.
supamas
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:18 am

Re: ESP32 PCB questions

Post by supamas » Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:42 am

I am designing a new PCB for an ESP32 module. I think you had laid out what you were looking to do but let me know and I can throw it down on a schematic and lay it out for you.

Capstan
Posts: 117
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 4:03 pm
Location: Texas, USA

Re: ESP32 PCB questions

Post by Capstan » Thu Nov 16, 2017 6:12 pm

supamas wrote:
Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:25 am
I design circuit cards. I have a design in the works right now for esp32 that can program via USB. Let me know if you would like to take a look.
I'd love to see whatever you are comfortable with sharing. What CAD software are you using?

I managed to design a rudimentary board using KiCad and populated it with parts this week. The ESP32 boots up and runs my software, I can communicate with it over the internet, and so far can turn a couple of LED's on and off. Will evaluate other functions over the next few days, already found a couple of wiring errors. The board is a mix of through-hole and surface mount parts. Some of the SMT packages I chose are microscopically small, I think next time I will go with things that are easier to handle. :)

There are a couple of pushbutton switches, the board footprints don't match the switches and I was able to get only one of them to work without shorting.

Image

supamas
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:18 am

Re: ESP32 PCB questions

Post by supamas » Sun Nov 19, 2017 8:08 pm

I use CircuitMaker. It's a CAD software that pulls parts from Octopart and uses the community to build parts and make 3D models and schematics. It has helped my design time a lot by finding footprints already made for the parts I need to add and a lot of times people have already made the part so I can just drop it in! It's tied to Octopart like I said so your BOM will print out with links to where you can buy the parts. It's an open community so it isn't always clean but I really do like how they have it set up. Plus, I have experience with Altium's design software which is what CircuitMaker is based off of. There are several ESP32 designs in there already too!

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