ESP32 PCB questions

[Roberthh]

I had the iopposite experience with the PCB CAD tools.

Eagle and Kicad are very complicated applications.

That may be, but it's only the first initial barrier. Once you're beyond that, it's a straight production step. I fonal ended up with KiCad, just because it's free for any PCB size. I tried Fritzing, but got very soon at it's limits, for instance when it came to precise positioning of components and mechanical parts. But maybe I simpy did not find the right buttons to push.

[pythoncoder]

The thing that drives me nuts about Fritzing is that their 0.1 inch pitch parts disallow routing a track between pins, even on the component side. They are capable of manufacturing boards with such tracks but you can only achieve it with custom parts. This makes parts like the official Pyboard virtually unusable.

[loboris]

If there are "dozens of projects on GitHub" that incorporate the ESP32 I'd like to see a few, so far have found only the ones I mentioned previously.

Quick search on GitHub finds more than dozen:
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-HU ... eather-PCB
https://github.com/SHA2017-badge/PCB
https://github.com/asukiaaa/esp32bb
https://github.com/watterott/ESP-WROOM-Breakout
https://github.com/Black-Electronics/ES ... e-Breakout
https://github.com/kerikun11/KERIESP32/ ... ster/kicad
https://github.com/OLIMEX/ESP32-EVB
https://github.com/asukiaaa/esp32stack
https://github.com/RoboticsBrno/RB3200-ESP32universal
https://github.com/russss/esp32-ethernet
https://github.com/esp32vn/esp32-iot-uno
https://github.com/iwCircuitDesign/ESP32-board
https://github.com/nico7/ESP32S-BOB
https://github.com/StudioSophisti/ESP-W ... e-Breakout
https://github.com/adamjvr/ESP32-kiCAD-Footprints

I would definitely recommend to learn how to use Eagle or KiCad if you want to make any kind of PCB design.
There are also some cloud based PCB desing software like EasyEDA

[Capstan]

Thanks for the suggestions! I am watching youtube tutorials about Eagle.

[VisualEcho]

I've just gotten Loboris' code to work on some custom stuff I make. It's not too hard, but not quite what I'd call a cheap hobby. I order PCBs and parts and melt them up in a toaster oven. If you have something in mind, I can probably help. Mostly I make modules (using Eagle, Gerbv, gerbmerge) to drive LED lamps, but moving towards mesh-networked HVAC actuators and other robotics. Pics attached, oh and I'm not really a hardware engineer, so laugh all you want. Second pic is ESP-WROOM-32 running on Headway 38120 LiFePO4 cell with recharger circuit on my desk now, working prty gud. I just ordered a pile of WROVERs and OLEDs, so I'll be trying to help where I can. I would like to get bluetooth working, maybe make a reference example Android app that can talk to it, but that's for another posting.

ESP-WROOM-32 LED lamp driver

esp32-lamp-driver.jpg (102.87 KiB) Viewed 10424 times

LiFePO4 backup ESP32 LED lamp driver (big blue battery)

esp32-lifepo4.jpg (77.17 KiB) Viewed 10424 times

[Capstan]

Very cool-looking stuff! I have been looking at both Eagle and Kicad over the past couple of weeks. People have steered me towards Kicad so I have been working through tutorials, getting somewhat familiar with the series of mini-apps you have to learn in order to make a board design. I've been having trouble with matching the schematic up to component footprints, it is confusing. I'm almost at the point where I can attempt a couple of layout versions now I think.

Also looked at how to cook an SMT board, and I ordered some solder paste and basic SMT components. Where are you getting your WROOM-32 modules? Right now I am looking at Grid Connect.

[VisualEcho]

Adafruit (https://www.adafruit.com) has a few, and the extra dollar in price means it will be on your doorstep pretty quick. They don't have any of the WROVER modules today, but their WROVER kit with the big TFT looks great. They also take bitcoin, and that's my clincher, coin is worth a lot right now. I got a Pro copy of Eagle from them a while back, and used a 'scope from them to debug the EEPROM I2C driver for the circuit above. Love Adafruit's Raspberry Pi stuff too... extra sugar please, 'cause their tech level is SWEET.

I bought WROVER modules from Electrodragon ( http://www.electrodragon.com ), at USD$4 for the base 4MB, I ordered up a small pile of them on a cheap boat. DHL from China or Hong Kong is terrific if you need them fast, but $$$. They also have some cute SSD1306 OLED modules, and ESP32 WROOMs for USD$3.50 .

Take a glance at https://www.smart-prototyping.com, I've found them to be prompt, accurate, and affordable. 50mm x 50mm 2-layer 8mil trace/space PCBs on your doorstep with stencil in about 12 days for ~ $80. They also do aluminum single-sided boards. They do part sourcing and assembly too, but I'm only prototyping for now. They're in Hong Kong fronting for NOA Labs, a German company, so they're all celebrating Chinese Oktoberfest this week. I'll get new shiny ESP-32/IMU/Dotstar LED driver PCBs next week. Uh, would anyone happen to be familiar with Michigan state laws regarding display of illuminated images from moving vehicles?

[Capstan]

I experimented with Eagle a while, and then with KiCad also. Decided to go with Kicad and after a couple of weeks of learning how to use it I was able to design a board with a combination of SMT and through-hole parts. I ordered it from Aisler about a week ago, and ordered the parts from Mouser. I expect everything to arrive in about another week, will be very excited to see it. The board is just an elaboration of a handmade prototype, mainly power and signal distribution, and I hope to learn a lot about the PCB-making process from this experience.

Meanwhile I bought a set of 10 WROOM-32 modules from Grid Connect, they arrived very quickly. Then I ordered this test fixture off of ebay;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-ESP32-Test-Bo ... 2749.l2649

You can get them for about $15 direct from China, but this one reached me in about 5 days. I plugged in a WROOM-32 module and was able to flash it with no problem. I am hoping my board design will allow for flashing as well, but if it doesn't work this is an alternative.

[Capstan]

Espressif and AWS are hosting an event to promote the ESP32-PICO-D4;

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aws-pop-up ... 9181722587

It looks very small, and the price is about the same as a WROOM-32. Is it correct to assume you would need to have some kind of WiFi antenna for it incorporated into the PCB? Has anyone developed a KiCad footprint for the pico?

[supamas]

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.