[US] Main Board Rev 2 — looking for participants

[wjtrotman22]

I am looking to build 5 as gifts for Christmas and would be willing to add another 5 ( or more ) if anyone would be interested to buying them. I took the latest information from the v2 board and added to jlcpcb. Figure it would be about 25 bucks a board plus shipping if anyone is interested. I am just loading the files provided by jamro with the double sided assembly so assuming the files are correct, I am not an electrical engineer so no guarantee on my end :-) Looking to order them in a week or so. Let me know if there is interest in combining order or if I am ordering for myself.

[wjtrotman22]

I had loaded the rev2 of the board and just saw there is a rev3 coming. Not against trying that one if it looks like it will work.

[jtruland]

Would you be open to mailing one or two out to NJ?

[wjtrotman22]

I have nothing against the great state of NJ and would be more than willing to mail 2 boards. Thanks!

[William-A8571]

Are you fine with waiting for the Rev 3 board or are you looking to get started before then?

[jtruland]

I don't have immediate plans for the next couple, I can wait.

[jamro]

Thanks for organizing this! Really great to see the community helping each other out! 🙂

Just a heads-up: Rev 3 is still in production, so I'll probably need another 2–3 weeks to receive and test it. No guarantees on that timeline or whether everything will work as expected.

I've been using Rev 2 for quite a while now, and it's been working well, so it's a safe choice if you don't want to wait.

[jamro]

Hey! Thanks, glad you like the design!

I ordered Rev 3 from PCBWay, mainly because I wanted to test another manufacturer. JLCPCB should work perfectly fine too! Actually, I have found the whole ordering process with JLCPCB smoother and faster so far, although I have only placed two orders with them, so it's not exactly a huge sample size :)

One thing worth checking before you start 3D printing is ⁠PR #87. It introduces an improved joint for the body servo. I'm still testing the design, but the initial results look promising! The original design works too, though, so there's no need to wait if you are eager to get started.

Looking forward to seeing your build!

[wjtrotman22]

I will try printing the new design and even without the board I will see if I can run basic movement using the servos I ordered which should get here today. I will let you know if I have any issues with the 3d part.

It seems like there might be some interest in basically turning this project into kits where we bulk order the PCBs and the components (screen, motor, esp, hardware ) and package/ship them out. I know this is not my design so I do not want to over step.

[William-A8571]

[jtruland]

I'd join for a parts order, as well. With such small quantities, the shipping is generally the killer.

[heytastyfood]

Same. Rev 2 or 3

[DoWhileGeek]

I'm in for 2 boards, 3 depending on the price per unit. I'm in California.

[trhooper]

I'm down for a board if you have room shipped to Indiana

[wjtrotman22]

Of course.

[jamro]

Quick update: Main Control Board Rev 3 is in: boards ordered, assembled, and tested on a real robot (USB, boot, servos, OLED, audio, plus the new J4 expansion header). Design is merged in
#66.

If you’re planning a community / regional batch, feel free to target Rev 3... same stock build, plus the 12-pin extension port for future mods (mic, sensors, buttons, etc.)

[wjtrotman22]

Nice. After trying both which manufacturer would you recommend (quality and price taken into account)? Also do you have any issues with us bundling the parts as kits ( with all the parts needed) to cut down the price of small build numbers ( assuming people are interested).

[jamro]

After trying both, I personally recommend JLCPCB.

PCBWay was slightly cheaper, but JLCPCB was faster, and the whole ordering process felt much smoother. Everything happens through online forms, while PCBWay required some back-and-forth emails.

Quality-wise, both boards work perfectly fine! I am definitely not a PCB manufacturing expert, though, so I can’t really judge beyond that.

One interesting cost optimization I noticed: if you leave the ESP32 headers unassembled, you can go with single-sided PCB assembly, which can significantly reduce the price. The trade-off is that you’ll need to solder the headers yourself. JLCPCB makes it really easy to experiment with different configurations using their instant online quotation tool.

As for bundling parts into kits, I’ve only ordered assembled PCBs myself, so I’m not sure whether JLCPCB or PCBWay can supply complete kits with all the additional components. Since you’re organizing the group order, feel free to explore whichever ordering options work best for everyone involved. It would be great to hear what you find out!

[wjtrotman22]

Thanks for the feedback back. Think I will be going with jlcpcb. For the part bundle I was referring to bundling the board with the oled, servos, etc. Basically everything you need to assemble the robot minus the 3d printed parts ( which after talking to my son, for a price he wouuld be willing to customize and print :-)).

[jamro]

Ah, got it! 😄 I think bundling everything into kits is a great idea and could make building Tiny Engineer much easier for others.

Since you’re organising the group order yourselves, feel free to bundle the components however works best for everyone.

[namrop]

I'd like in for 1 board, shipped to Florida. Rev 2 or Rev 3 is fine with me. Let me know how you'd like to handle payment and shipping.