How to Make Custom ESP32 Board in 3 Hours | Full Tutorial

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you for watching. PS: Project is here: oshwlab.com/robertferanec/esp32-tutorial

[@EFazy]

Dear Robert! I've just created a 2 layer board in EasyEDA, thanks for this awesome tutorial! I have a question in my mind however... My board is an H-Bridge which will handle 10A current spikes, a few amp countinous current. (I upgrade my kid's electric tractor)... So I just did the layout, and I have some space on the board to route a few tracks on both side a top of each other (for example from the MOSFETs to motor connector) If I do this, should I put VIAs along the way to connect the two sides multiple time, or is just ok if the connection is made in the two ends (THT connector and FET had been used) Thanks, Peter

[@RobertFeranec]

@@EFazy that's super cool. I am very happy this tutorial helped. PCB tracks can withstand high currents (I have some videos about burning PCB tracks) + I discuss high current PCB design with Steve Sandler. I don't know how wide are your tracks, but you can use Saturn PCB calculator (free software) to double check if you would need paralell tracks. 10A is not so much - it may not be necessary, especially if your input - output are on the same side of PCB - in that case most current will probably flow on one side anyway. However, having GND plane on the other side may help with possible EMC / EMI reduction (which may not be relevant in your case). kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZXPf2uYfdxgrZI kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXu0mmysmKiKY6c

[@burakkrkl4689]

The most beautiful saying "PERFECT" I've ever heard in my life ( I will use that voice sample on my home assistant wallpanel if @robertferanec allows it 🙄). Excellent job. I am using these boards in my house automation system without knowing how they work internally. Now I have a good idea of how this kind of system works.

[@Taki7o7]

Why not using USB-C tho? :D Personally hate the boards not coming with USB-C already because the other connectors die even faster :(

[@kennethbeal]

Thank you so much for this! Want to say, @2:52:52 (palindrome :) ), I see you using a web page from DroneBotWorkshop. I've been learning a lot from his videos! That's so cool. Am helping my nephew write video games, and I plan to introduce him to "smaller computers" this Christmas, with displays and PictoBlox which is like MIT's Scratch, which can run on esp32 etc. Thank you again!

[@A_RosnerNZ]

Thanks - an incredibly useful tutorial. All my questions answered from one video. Brilliant!

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much

[@hedleyfurio]

Another awesome contribution to the community 👍 , having started doing layout on light tables using vellum and bishop tape all I can say is this generation of engineers have no excuse for producing nothing short of excellent designs . Modern tools and your guidance and generosity of sharing many years of your experience is all they need . Having purchased your Cadence course a few years back it saved me $ 1000’s of dollars of wasted time getting to know the tool chain 🙏👍👏

[@RobertFeranec]

Totally agree. I wish I had the same possibilities when I was a teenager. PS: Thank you very much for buying our courses, you support helps with creating this free content.

[@RichardKCollins]

I knew this was possible, and you show all the steps. There must be ways to share working schematics with all required fabrication information. This is as cheap as buying off the shelf. I often see boards that have too many things and want to remove them, buy just what I need for an application. If you tied to the PCB maker then anyone could just pick what they needed and have it made. Thanks!!

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much @richardcollins5549 PS: If it helps, a link to the finished project is in my pinned comment.

[@RichardKCollins]

​@@RobertFeranec Thanks. You are doing some outstanding things. But it still relies on your memory of how to find and click so many things. If we just had some way to check boxes to select what we want. I am sure a program, somewhere, could generate the required pieces to "print" something and let us order them. Me, today, I would ask for a programmable SDR to cover from milliHertz to GHz, storage to network drive. Yes, the link is helpful. I have been spending many hours every day talking with ChatGPT3 from OpenAI. It cannot yet, but at some point could, help people design the tools they need, program them for what you want to do, and have them completely ready to go to work when you receive them. Maybe I am just old, but after more than 40 years of clicking and typing arcane sequences of things, just to get computers to stay working, I am happy to be able to talk with an AI in complete and correct English sentences, using whatever words I want to express myself. It makes lots of mistakes and is not yet allowed to learn, but it saves me a LOT of time and improves my writing at the same time.

[@miguelake288]

Hi Robert, Thank you for the great video! Great content as always I would like to share a little tip: When you are routing a line on the top layer, and you want to pass to the bottom layer through a VIA (e.g., at 01:35:15), you can just switch the layer on the "Layers and objects" box, and it creates the VIA automatically from your current layer to the one to which you changed to (instead of (1) stopping the routing command, (2) placing the VIA, (3) switching the layer, and (4) starting the routing command again).

[@ratbagley]

I was just thinking that. Little tricks....

[@TYGAMatt]

Inspirational! I'm in process trying to design a PCB for a motorcycle CDI. I was really stuck today but your video has given me a bunch of new ideas and a lot of enthusiasm. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Perfect!

[@alexfontenot4963]

Thanks! I appreciate the long form content that really shows how it all comes together

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much for your support and nice comment.

[@Pichon099-wc4wg]

Thanks, Robert! This is incredibly helpful!

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much for your support. I am very happy you found it helpful.

[@val5ntin]

Thanks for the great tutorial, Robert! At first I was a little discouraged by the 3 hours, but it is by far the best tutorial I have seen so far on this subject. And now I discovered others of your quality videos, 8-9 hours in total. :)

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you for watching and leaving nice comment

[@louiskatzclay]

Thanks! I have had about 6 boards manufactured using JLCPCB using KiCad. This looks easier even given the new software time hit. The integration with LCSC looks easier. I have never had more than 2 layers and have been avoiding it. Its the longest instructional video I have watched but it was great. Watching you work likely will speed me up some. Watching the USB parts and Impedance matching eases some stress. I have missed the check and had a couple of parts not assembled. I now take a copy of their check image next to mine so that I can check everything easier

[@RoofusRoof19]

I never thought ESP would just include their board schematics on their website, thanks for the video

[@rohandesigns]

One of the best professional pcb designing tutorial 👌 so far. A to Z steps for pcb development... thank you for such an awesome tutorial...

[@D-Khaz]

Great video! Only wish that you went a bit more into explaining why you physically placed the components where you did on the PCB. It might be that you had already designed one of these and was copying it, but it would still be good to understand the logic when you’re initially laying things out.

[@shelleywise2941]

Another awesome contribution to the community , having started doing layout on light tables using vellum and bishop tape all I can say is this generation of engineers have no excuse for producing nothing short of excellent designs . Modern tools and your guidance and generosity of sharing many years of your experience is all they need . Having purchased your Cadence course a few years back it saved me $ 1000’s of dollars of wasted time getting to know the tool chain

[@RSP13]

Another great video in KZbin'S history.

[@retronexusio]

These practical videos are the best, so much to learn. WOuld be great to see more of them! these are really helpful! Thanks for the hard work on this

[@maximus6884]

Your channel has taken the community so far ahead!

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much

[@klebs6]

totally agree!

[@MatthijsPaasMedia]

Bedankt

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much

[@tomashubelbauer]

Thanks!

[@RobertFeranec]

Dakujem

[@originuk]

Thank you Robert! I am amazed at how serious you are about having fun! Gold medal!

[@RobertFeranec]

:)

[@ergindemir7366]

Nice to see the corrected wroom-32E easyeda model in action. It took me a long time to let them correct it.

[@avinadadmendez4019]

Hello Robert. I am just finishing a design using the ESP32-S2 bare IC. While using the bare IC instead of the module, you have to place a 40Mhz Oscillator, and you also have to design a transmission line for the RF input, and a Pi Network for transmission matching. Do you think you can cover that in a future video?

[@RobertFeranec]

RF for this kind of chips is on my todo list. Just hard to find someone for my interview video.

[@avinadadmendez4019]

@@RobertFeranec Yes, it most certainly is. What little I know had to learn the hard way

[@alejandroperez5368]

​@@avinadadmendez4019watch Phil's lab. He covered that

[@7GIGEO7]

A great tutorial from start to the very end, you went through all the necessary steps without any skipping of content and with lots of aspects explained. I really enjoyed the whole video. Thank you Robert!

[@georgeocean3319]

I REALLY CAN'T FIND WORDS, THIS VIDEO IS MIRACLE... ROBERT THANK YOU VERY-VERY MUCH, YOU CHANGE MY LIFE

[@andrewna4095]

Great video mate! Even though I have already made 30+ different PCBs, still learned a few new tricks! Amazing. Keep up the good stuff!

[@Havirgem]

THE BEST VIDEO EVER! Thank you for sharing this free content to the community. I loved the video. Just felt bad that it's WAY expensive to order it

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you. PS: You can always only buy PCB (just PCB is not expensive), buy components somewhere else and fit them by yourself. Also, as others pointed out, you can use Basic components, that would make it cheaper.

[@molobot2529]

@@RobertFeranecj😅h😅h

[@bubbl_media]

Thank you so much! This is an awesome tutorial, from the real beginning to a working pcb. No one shows so much details as you! Thank you!

[@ctbram0627]

I am just getting into designing my own PCB's and this is going to be my first project as you have covered every single step. Great job. I can't think of anything more you could have done short of coming to the house and building it all with me. Thanks

[@khalidusbi7]

hello, did it work for u ?

[@garyh8093]

I am absolutely awestruck from this video, amazing! I have watched some of your other Altium ones, and will be purchasing at least one of your Fedevel courses today. Can I ask one question? What about vias in pads? Is it something to be avoided? Guidelines? Thank you so much!

[@krishnakantwal6029]

I have just finished the tutorial and this is just awesome. It is the moment about the truth. Thank you.

[@rajdeepdas86]

Thank you for the detailed description. I was thinking if raw ESP32 modules would require bootloader for connecting via Arduino.

[@pan_dmytrom]

Thanks for a great tutorial. I was able to make my first pcb using this skills and its actually working. Telling the truth, I am 100 LY away from hw designer 😂

[@denizhernandez2451]

Hello Robert I like your Video! But as a feedback for your next video: Maybe instead of just saying what you are doing it would be very helpful if you would explain why you are doing what your doing. For example at 2:23:00 you are saying that for the power pin you would use 2 VIAs, but it would be great to know why. Or also while placing the polygons, it would be nice to understand why you are doing that. just my two cents on a great video!

[@vladoportos]

I'm a bit confused, I just finished a video where you had talk about not using power plane and ground plane to avoid noise... and now you have them here... could you shortly explain why, or if that even matter in this case... no idea how else would you route so much traces without, though :D

[@limebulls]

1:24:18 how does EasyEDA know through which layer a VIA goes? I mean it "starts" at the first layer but what layer does it connect to? There is "Inner1", "Inner2" and the "last layer" possible? (Im a beginner)

[@krautergarten4529]

Whats the reason behind not connection the gnd of decoupling caps to the ground pin of the mcu? Instead u used one via to the ground plane for each, even when they are right next to each other. These two vias will increase the impedance of the gnd path between the cap and the supply pins. Same at the input cap of the LDO? Shouldn't gnd pin connected to decoupling cap connected to two gnd vias give the best preformance?

[@lmstrutt]

Quick question: What is the purpose of the 0 ohm resistors in the serial signals section? Is it just to make it easier to cross-connect the TXD to RXD nets?

[@BillyLinn]

I'm wondering this too, but I'm not all the way through the video yet.

[@bartdereu9267]

This is by far the best tutorial out there ! thanks!

[@neilAneerGAmAI]

Great video. Thanks for showing every step, even the repetitive "boring" stuff.

[@alanyukeroo]

I just wanted to say thank you for this excellent video. Your explanation was exactly what I was looking for and I learned so much from it!

[@mav29]

perfect I had been looking for tutorials like this, I just passed by while I'm looking for another tutorial for work related, i came to this. This is really great

[@PockyBum522]

A fantastic tutorial, and what I learned here is about to get put to use. So much good information packed into a few hours. Thank you very much, I learned a lot in a short period. Subscribed!

[@trhosking]

Great video. Wouldn’t you save space for routing by connecting ground pins where possible and sharing vias rather than creating a via for every pin? Same for 3V3.

[@AndrewKiethBoggs]

Hi! General best practice is to place ground and power vias per connection and avoid sharing I believe. I have heard different reasoning behind this from different engineers but I am still learning myself. Overall, if you have the space, doesn't hurt to shoot for best case of better, low inductance connections to internal planes. I think for simple designs, probably doesn't matter.

[@Евгений-ъ9й2э]

2:21:37 Is 50 ohms (6 mill) the standard for all devices or only for high-speed ones? My device uses a generator with a frequency of 10 MHz, there are several frequency dividers in the device itself, and the device uses frequencies of 5 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 1.25 MHz. Do I need to use 50 ohm tracks? Thank you! P.S. The board is double-sided, 1.6 mm

[@kitastro]

thank you for everything. I especially like when you talk to so many various experts

[@jacekmielniczuk7328]

Hi there, I`m a newbee with all of this and Your Video has helped me aLOOOOOT. GREAT JOB Robert

[@ZenoModiff]

i just like the video tutorial .... this is the classic one i was searching for no lagging and no other stuff just straight to the point ... just loved it ❣

[@Daniel-ug8vx]

Greetings, I am somewhat new in this schematics, labels and design, based on your design we can consider the 5V-EXT label as in some other boards that is named VIN?? THANK YOU

[@madbotanist3605]

You are a genius, I will learn a lot from this. Thank you for the time you put into this.

[@JohnMChen-rt4uw]

What a fantastic work, a comprehensive guide. I appreciate you sharing the entire process of creating the idea from scratch.

[@dagarnenilssen]

Perfect video! Learn a lot (together with your series #1- #7 one year ago). Have a question: "Power Input Selection" there you use a connector "J4" - to avoid a manual connector - can this be replaced with a "Dual Common Cathode Schottky Barrier Diodes (e.g. onsemi BAT54CLT1G)", the same solution that was used in your "TINY" the project?

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you. The 1117 regulator is not the best and if you take the lower USB voltage tolerance and decrease it by loses on the diode the voltage will be around the limits what 1117 needs. That is the reason why I rather used jumper. In the TINY project I used a better regulator, so we could use the diode.

[@electrobotics43]

I learned alot from you, Even after watching your videos i started Study youtube channel and uploaded course on Udemy. Thanks for your teachings.

[@tenhope3206]

this is actually so detailed, i managed to create my own wled board for inside and portable use. thanks!!

[@gearscodeandfire]

Super helpful for people like me dipping their toes into custom assembled boards!

[@iqrasheikh4153]

hii robert i am not able to get those transistors ...what should i do please suggest.i am not able to connect enable pin due to this problem 1:45:00

[@RobertFeranec]

what do you mean that you are not able to get these transistors? if you have problem in layout, just find a compatible transistor with the same footprint or adjust the footprint of the transistor you used.

[@blissmatters4119]

Thank you Jedi master. I am your Padawan learner. Very well done.

[@ethanbluestein7617]

I understood very little about electronics going into the video. Your step by step instructions really helped clarify some concepts I didn't fully grasp. I am looking forward to watching more. Thank you for the great video.

[@RoySATX]

I learned more from this video than the previous half dozen. Thanks!

[@yayser]

Where were you 2 months ago..I learned all by myself the hard way:) Anyway thanks for the great video!

[@gaeljaffrain6069]

Fantastic video ! I want to make my own ESP32 board, customized for the personal project I am working on and this step-by-step video is incredible !

[@alexk6745]

Hi Gael, I'm also doing my first custom ESP32 board. I'm making board to communicate via CAN bus as I do not wanna use wifi or any radio. I'm currently doing board with 4 connectors for PIR sensors. The esp32 supposed to send messages over the CAN Bus to ESPHome listening on CAN Bus. Then I'm gonna control my hot water solar heater again via CAN Bus. I'm planing to wire most important things over CAN Bus.

[@GargamelCZ]

Sorry for a newbie question, but what is the reason for two GND vias right next to each other - why not use the same via for both connections?

[@FinnGamble]

And/or a polygon? Isn’t ground plane essentially just a great big ”polygon” anyways?

[@jesuseng2338]

Great video, very well explained and i will make it. Why boards on internet are cheaper than these? I've seem them in $9,25 dollars. Thank you.

[@abhinavbhardwaj5681]

Excellent video, I must tell you I have learned the schematic and pcb design by watching your videos, and there was on fpga video that helped me so much in one project that i was working

[@ritzengineering]

You can have different design rule, esp at Track With and can decide for which type like GND or Vcc

[@fahrvergnuugen]

At 1:34:30 mark you have two GND vias right next to each other. Is there a reason not to share one via for two traces?

[@krautergarten4529]

U don't want the currents to share the same return path. Also vias a the highest impedance in the path, more vias are always better if u have the space.

[@priyanshuwaghdhare5458]

Hello sir I have a question why you are not using auto route feature I am new to the pcb designing..

[@bhupiistersingh4097]

Great video without hiding anything and asking for following the paid course.

[@sammyiyi7136]

THANK YOU ROBERTS! YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER! It was a breeze for me since I had already taken you introductory Altium training on Udemy 2yrs ago. Most of the steps, mouse movements etc (except the 3D view controls) are very similar to Altium environment!. And it is much simpler to use and get started quickly than Altium especially bcos of the component and foot print library!

[@samm928]

Were you able to setup HDI vias in easyEDA ? This looks like the Pro version.

[@jeffreyhoward9501]

Quick question, for the user LED you have the cathode connected to the ESP GPIO and the anode connected to +3v3. Doesn't the output from the esp32 produce +3v3 making both sides of the LED receive +3v3?

[@RobertFeranec]

GPIO output from ESP can be controlled by software and can be set to both, 3v3 or 0.

[@tahsunglee7085]

Amazing video , really this is the best channel, I hope more videos like this one

[@madhukeshnp]

Learnt lot of things on this tutorial. Brilliant man he is.

[@youtubeneedsfix]

this was really helpful. thanks ♥ . Good luck for future ones 👍.

[@bissoruben]

Thank you very much. I am working on a product that used ESP32. I hope to find a solution for PCB challenges I faced at the BOOT and ENABLE wiring to the ESP32. Thank you for the video. Let's me sit down and enjoy ❤️☺️

[@johnnyyoon2558]

Hello This video is very helpful to me. Thanks my guru!

[@MomoCoder]

Why do you add via for every gnd and power pins? when some gnd pads are close to each other what hapens if you sort them and add only one via?

[@hiteck007]

You make this look so easy. I have never seen software like this let alone used it. SMD's are so hard to work with too.

[@sudrshnmndl]

@RobertFeranec I am unable to get the ESD diodes LESD5D5.0CT1G as it is charging a lot for custom clearance. Can you suggest me any other alternatives for that in the same package that I can get in india very easily. Thank you in advance 😊

[@massimomalesci352]

Hi Robert really amazing video! I just would like to ask you what the purpose of polygons is. Could I just make a copper area connected to 3V3 for the second layer and to GND for the third layer, without drawing the polygons?

[@ahmadmohamd1566]

I have a problem in ic2 connection and I can't find the device do you can suggest any solution ? Thank u for your efforts

[@anonymefaya9810]

For the CP2102N erata, you use the IO23 pin! We can use all pin that we want for the power on reset 🤨?

[@alimochtaar]

Finally, This is what im looking for, thank you, Sir!

[@shourovpal2168]

Man !! you made me feel proud❤ A big thank you!!

[@56shauryasingh33]

Hi, would 6 mil for all tracks other than USB and Power work out well? I'm building a similar 4 layer board.

[@jankowasli1203]

This is a great tutorial because it shows how a professional engineer is thinking during the actual work and I would like to thank you for that. I have a question about the process. How much time you had to spent on a research phase before recording the video?

[@AppletonInnovations]

while ordering PCB, how many layers we need to select? 2 layers or 4 layers

[@profaneus]

why dont you put the filtering capacitors under the esp32 (bottom layer)?

[@MohammadHefny_HefnySco]

I am a big fan of your videos. As an easyeda user this is an iconic video for me .. very useful and informative .... thank you ...

[@MatSmithLondon]

This is a great video. I would be very interested in seeing a video about DIY / custom ESP32 with ethernet and PoE on-board (using the cheap PoE power supply boards you can find on aliexpress for $5, they work well). Perhaps a video that doesn't spend too long on PCB layout (except where necessary, to achieve stability with ethernet) but a video that spends some time discussing what needs to be included in the hardware and code to achieve reliable ethernet. For example, I would really like to start making my own sensor boards with ethernet built-in, or even some DIN-rail host boards for connecting remote sensors etc. Thanks - I like your videos!

[@jonathanblekkenhorst3770]

those parts that you ordered that were not "layed out" or "on board" in the design that you ordered separately, how did you get them to JLCPCB to get them added? I am confused by that part

[@RobertFeranec]

I soldered them manually by myself after I received the boards

[@ArjunArjun-sw2th]

I am getting only 34 nets and I am getting errors in nets can you please help me

[@professorquack]

You’re the Bob Ross of board design.

[@jonathansouza7321]

Can I ask why you use tracks on ground plane instead of just doing a copper pour?

[@lolsypussy]

It's the same

[@jaroslavpsenicka]

Thank you Robert, it's very nice and detailed explanation and I really appreciate it. Few comments though: - I'd love to hear why you've chosen a particular component (e.g. the usb-serial chip) and what was the alternatives, if any - it would be great to explain what's the purpose of important components within the reference designs (e.g. the ESD protection diodes) and why we need them - you made few changes compared to the reference designs, I am not sure I always understood why and for what purpose - what's the reason for chosen form factor - making the board a little bit wider may allow repositioning the ESP chip between the headers and simplify the overall routing a little bit - using context menu for copy and paste drives me crazy :) - I love the trick with naming vias "GND" - I am not sure I understood why the bottom layer transistors are in fact not needed and why we need to place them in case of issues with the COM port (what issues?)

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you. About info: It's a compromise - each small additional info will make the tutorial longer and longer. To keep it simple, I decided do not comment too much. You can find more detailed tutorial here: kzbin.info/aero/PLXvLToQzgzdea0sQXmpY8k4tfiXpkYIwO PS: If board would be wider, there is not much space for standard breadboard. Also, I intentionally avoid using shortcuts and keystrokes so everyone can see and repeat what I am doing.

[@cimishpk]

Excellent video and awesome tutorial, Robert, I am creating a board with Easyeda pro, I have finished the schematic part, can I send it privately to carry out a check?

[@Leif_YT]

Great video. Personally I've switched to the Pro Version, which is a nice step up. They've integrated a lot of feedback from the Standard version into the Pro version I think.

[@ARCubd]

best way to enter new year you are the best

[@loopie007]

Wow, long video. Lots to learn. Thank you.

[@pochcho5222]

Sorry for my dumb question. But, the esp32 you designed, can it operate in Bluetooth and BLE as well or just wifi? Thank you

[@JorgeoftheJungle]

You are the man Robert! Thank you!