Today, I was finally able to complete reading the paper on the PCB editor to learn everything (might have over learnt it) about it. I also spent some time on an ESP32S3 pins sketch to make sure I had the wiring correct before I felt ready to make the final PCB!
Then on the PCB editor, I spent about an hour to make wire the ESP32S3 to the sensors and the W5500. I have now completed both of the PCBs needed for the project :)
Knowing nothing about the PCB editor yesterday, to making my first PCB today was quite a fun journey. I started the session by reading a guide to the PCB editor in KiCAD, which helped me learn all the basics I needed to make 1 out of the 3 total PCBs!
Even though, I will have to learn a little more about the editor before I can make the PCB for the left temple (ESP32S3, W5500 & MAX 30102) and the front side (MPU6050), I am happy that I was able to complete the PCB for the right temple (Battery, TP4056 & TPS63020) of the glasses :)
Starting from where I left yesterday, I began work on the remaining footprints. TPS63020 proved to kinda difficult to make the footprint for because it followed unconventional pin spacing but I was able to find a workaround using my newly attained knowledge(I had to read a little more :/ lol)
I am now done with all the footprints including the battery and the switch. I have placed these footprints in the PCB editor but I unfortunately have no idea how to make the editor work :( I’ll read about it tomorrow and hopefully make the PCB by tomorrow!
I started the session off by reading a paper on how to use the PCB editor in KiCAD. However, mid-way through, I realised that the footprints I custom-made for my parts are not accurate :( So instead of working on the PCB, I spent the rest of the session to remake the footprints 1:1.
I was able to make the footprint for the ESP32S3, MPU6050, MAX30102, TP4056 & W5500. This leaved behind a footprint for the battery, the button (no clue how that works) and the TPS63020.
Hopefully, in the next session, I’ll be able to complete the footprints for the remaining components, however given that I don’t currently own the TPS63020, I’ll have to research more on its dimensions.
To start the session, I redesigned the ESP32S3’s footprint (I forgot to save the last one). I then moved on to make the footprint for MAX30102 heartrate sensor.
Then, I also included the symbol designs for the battery, battery charger and the voltage regulator. The schematic is fully wired now comprising of the sensors, esp, ethernet and the power :) I have placed some of the footprints in the PCB editor on KiCAD but honestly, I have no idea how the PCB editor works.
Next session I will read some papers on the PCB editor in KiCAD and start working (finally lol) on the actual PCB!
I started the session off by running an Electric Rule Checker test, which unfortunately gave me 4 errors :( Not sure what to do, I read a paper on wiring in KiCAD, which even though was VERY boring, I was able to pinpoint all 4 errors down to their causes. Thankfully, after debugging for a bit, I was able to get rid of all errors!
I also started assigning footprints to all my sensors and components (had to custom make one for ESP32-S3 because they did not have my exact model), so that I can finally move towards making the PCB come to life :)
I started this session off by reading some papers on how to wire components in KiCAD. I am getting bored of reading so much lol but reading these papers are really helpful in trying to understand how the wiring works :)
Following the reference drawings I made, I was able to connect all the components through wires (or so I thought because the first ERC test showed 19 errors lol). I still have 4 errors left to fix, which I will hopefully do tomorrow before I can move on to the PCB!
Starting off where I left last session, I built the scematic designs for all the remaining components (i.e., W5500, ESP32-S3, MPU6050). The ESP32-S3 turned out quite tedious because of the 40 number of pins on it :/ but that wasn’t as bad the W5500 component design vanishing out of no where :(
I was able to complete all the components though, which is a plus! I’ll now have to learn how to wire scematics so I can finally wire all the components together and build the PCB :)
After yesterday’s uneventful KiCAD session, I looked for more knowledge on KiCAD. That’s where I found a presentation by Oxford University on KiCAD. Reading through the paper was helpful in actually understanding the basics and learning how to design my own components!
Hopefully, later today I’ll be able to finish all 4 component designs and place them in one schematic :)
I started the session off by reading a paper on KiCAD and PCBs. The paper gave me an overview of how PCBs work and what exactly is KiCAD (I knew nothing about either before this). Then, I tried to make the schematic for the project in KiCAD, but I could not find the exact model of my ESP32-S3 :( Looks like I’ll have to manually make it.
Hopefully, by tomorrow I’ll be able to get the models of ESP32-S3, MPU6050, MAX30102 and W5500 in KiCAD!
I started a 1:1 scaled drawing of Hermes Vision yesterday. Today I was able to complete the full drawing including the left-outward side, the right-inward side and the right-outward side of the glasses. This complete design will hopefully help out in the making of the CAD for the glasses frame.
I was also drew a wiring diagram of the whole project, providing a reference for when I want to make the PCB for these glasses!
On my tab, I started a 1:1 scaled drawing of Hermes Vision. The process was fun but tedious because I had to measure the length of each component by hand using a meter rule (I don’t have digital vernier calipars lol). In around 1.5 hours, I was able to complete the front alongwith the left-inward side of the glasses!
Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have the complete drawing so I can move on to properly and accurately designing the CAD for my glasses frame :)
In update 1, I started work on bringing the prototype to life, but honestly speaking, I couldn’t even make a shape. Thankfully, this CAD session was a bit better because I was able to make shapes and cut shapes into them!
The prototype is far from alive, but I was able to give it a shape. Hopefully I will be able to build on this design in future as I learn more and more about CAD.
Update 3:
MPU Soldering — again!
I thought the first time I soldering my mpu6050 I did an excellent job, but it was only when I tried turning it on, I realised I had completely fried the SDA and SCL on the chip :/
Hopefully this time I wont get the same I2C issues, letting me proceed to the CAD design and soldering other components.
Upadate 2:
First Time Soldering!
Who knew melting lead and copper would be this fun haha.
I soldered the MPU 6050 Gyroscope with its pins so I could connect it to the breadboard. Now using jumper wires I can easily connect the Gyroscope to the ESP32 for a life feed on the exact coordinates of the chip.
I am still trying to debug some I2C wiring issue, which hopefully, will be done by tomorrow.
Update 1:
Bringing the Prototype to Life!
I experimented with CAD (first time lol) to create a 3D model of the glasses.
To start things off, I measured the exact dimensions of the front of the glasses I want. Then (after quite a lot of research) I decided to use Onshape to design them.
I drew the main lines and construction lines based on the measurements I took, just to get the general shape and size right. It definitely wasn’t perfect at first lol, so I changed a few things around and tried different measurements.I also played around with some basic 3D shapes and features in Onshape just to get a feel for how everything works. Nothing super advanced yet, but it helped me understand the tools and gave me a better idea of how I can build the actual glasses later :))
