nimit 🚀
added to the journal ago
Rerouted the PCB
Previous routing was kind of meh + I needed a ground plane too so I rerouted the whole PCB again 💔💔💔
Also, I decided to not use xiaos on the tiles and instead put a I2C IO expander. This way, I can control their addresses and not have to fiddle with IIC slaves in software. Also it's cheaper so yeah
I still need to put more stuff on the silkscreen but i can also just do that after I finish the tiles
nimit 🚀
added to the journal ago
Finished layout and routing
So I finished the layout and routing of the main PCB! I think it looks great, but I need to make it look pretty. Also, I'm pretty sure the 3v3/GND rails cannot handle the 400mA i wanna put through this so might make those a bit thicker. Ground planes would help too... okay screw it i might asw just scrap the whole thing and redo the tracing lol
This definitely needs silkscreen art, although I have a ton of space under each tile. Maybe I can route most of the stuff on B.Cu and have the F.Cu for art? There's so much potential!
nimit 🚀
added to the journal ago
Finished the PCB and completed the main framework design
finished the rest of the schematic! Anyway, this thing is supposed to be an input device where the modules can be switched around on the fly! most of my applications revolve around either MIDI or as a streamdeck/macropad but I want to keep the device open-ended enough to keep it usable in every case. Each tile is going to be a 2" square piece of PCB with headers on the bottom that slots into the base module. The base module is going to be a larger 5x6" rectangular PCB that has the top inch used for some main controls and screen. the remaining 4x6" area is used for 6 tiles. i've designed the pinouts of the tiles in a way that future baseplates up to 4x4 tiles (8"x8") are compatible. the design for this is planned to be rugged and open like my other designs, but this time i will also skip out on the 3D printed bottom case, opting for brass standoffs or a cap nut. I was considering the design to be black and gold but ENIG will be quite expensive so black and silver will have to do
nimit 🚀
added to the journal ago
Started the schematic
i got a few ideas going on, so I started work on the main PCB. Here it is! 
anyways the thing is that each "Tile" is a few headers that uniquely connect to a tile in a way such that you CANNOT fuck up plugging it in at all
imma make a drawing for this to better explain it all in a bit lol
nimit 🚀
started swapdeck ago
2/23/2026 12 PM - Started the schematic
i got a few ideas going on, so I started work on the main PCB. Here it is!
anyways the thing is that each "Tile" is a few headers that uniquely connect to a tile in a way such that you CANNOT fuck up plugging it in at all
imma make a drawing for this to better explain it all in a bit lol
2/23/2026 3 PM - Finished the PCB and completed the main framework design
finished the rest of the schematic! Anyway, this thing is supposed to be an input device where the modules can be switched around on the fly! most of my applications revolve around either MIDI or as a streamdeck/macropad but I want to keep the device open-ended enough to keep it usable in every case. Each tile is going to be a 2" square piece of PCB with headers on the bottom that slots into the base module. The base module is going to be a larger 5x6" rectangular PCB that has the top inch used for some main controls and screen. the remaining 4x6" area is used for 6 tiles. i've designed the pinouts of the tiles in a way that future baseplates up to 4x4 tiles (8"x8") are compatible. the design for this is planned to be rugged and open like my other designs, but this time i will also skip out on the 3D printed bottom case, opting for brass standoffs or a cap nut. I was considering the design to be black and gold but ENIG will be quite expensive so black and silver will have to do
2/23/2026 5 PM - Finished layout and routing
So I finished the layout and routing of the main PCB! I think it looks great, but I need to make it look pretty. Also, I'm pretty sure the 3v3/GND rails cannot handle the 400mA i wanna put through this so might make those a bit thicker. Ground planes would help too... okay screw it i might asw just scrap the whole thing and redo the tracing lol
This definitely needs silkscreen art, although I have a ton of space under each tile. Maybe I can route most of the stuff on B.Cu and have the F.Cu for art? There's so much potential!
2/25/2026 - Rerouted the PCB
Previous routing was kind of meh + I needed a ground plane too so I rerouted the whole PCB again 💔💔💔
Also, I decided to not use xiaos on the tiles and instead put a I2C IO expander. This way, I can control their addresses and not have to fiddle with IIC slaves in software. Also it's cheaper so yeah
I still need to put more stuff on the silkscreen but i can also just do that after I finish the tiles