I designed this PCB in 2021 to power and control my companion bots. :)
It’s based on a system I prototyped by hand while building F3NR1R, my fennec fox bot, back in 2020. Scroll down for tutorials on the board itself and my hand-drawn art process.
The latest version has M3 mounting holes and transistor slots, plus updated instrutions printed on the board, as well as the classic skelly design.
The board’s main purpose is to break out any small microcontroller (such as an Arduino Nano, Teensy, or Xiao/QTPy) on a breadboard, with connections to headers.
The headers provide power, ground, and data lines – perfect for servos or NeoPixel LEDs.
The breadboard mount allows you to easily swap out the microcontroller without disrupting the rest of your project. The most you’ll have to do is reroute some header connections.
The ribcage provides an essential function: allowing you to locate all the connections on one side of the board (making it a bit smaller), by adding a small jumper wire or solder blob across the central contacts.
At the bottom of the board is a quotation from Metropolis: “Mittler zwischen Hirn und Händen muss das Herz sein” – The mediator between head and hands must be the heart. An apt motto for robot builders!
iPad to KiCad: PCB Art with Procreate