Would you be interested in an assembled Tiny Engineer Main Board?

[jamro]

I'm working on an integrated Main Board for Tiny Engineer that replaces most of the separate electronics modules and wiring with a single PCB.

The board integrates:

• PCA9685 servo controller
• MAX98357A audio amplifier
• USB-C
• power distribution, filtering and protection
• servo, OLED and speaker connections
• a socket for the ESP32-C3-Zero

The idea is to make the electronics side of the build much simpler: plug in the ESP32, connect the servos, OLED and speaker, and you're ready to go.

You can see the board and the technical details in #46.

The board is ready

The Main Board has now been manufactured and tested successfully.

The hardware design and manufacturing files are available in the repository, and you can already order the board yourself.

I’ve added a step-by-step guide here:

https://github.com/jamro/tiny-engineer/blob/main/docs/hardware/order-main-control-board.md

The guide currently documents ordering through JLCPCB, including PCB fabrication, BOM, component placement and assembly options.

The main downside of ordering individually is cost. Small PCBA runs have relatively high fixed setup costs, and JLCPCB currently requires a minimum order of 5 PCBs even if you only need one.

For context, a small assembled batch is roughly:

around $75 for 5 boards with single-sided assembly, plus shipping

or:

around $150 for 5 fully assembled double-sided boards, plus shipping

So the board is available today, but ordering a single Tiny Engineer this way is still more expensive than I’d like.

Interested in an easier / cheaper option?

👍 React to this post if you would consider getting a fully assembled Main Board for around $15–20 + shipping.

This is still just an interest check — not a preorder and no commitment to buy.

I’m exploring ways to make individual boards easier and cheaper to obtain, including alternative manufacturers, shared-project ordering and community group orders.

If interest becomes large enough, there may also be other options worth exploring later, such as larger production runs or working with a hardware manufacturer/distributor that could take care of production and fulfilment.

For now, though, the important part is: the board is ready and you can already order it yourself using the guide above.

[danpillay87]

I'd be interested in an assembled Main Board, and I'd also love a complete pre-built Tiny Engineer. Are finished units something you might offer, or do you know someone who could assemble one from your design? I'm in the UK and happy to cover parts, build time and shipping.

[jtruland]

I'd be interested. We could also do smaller regional group orders, if the demand isn't there for a real bulk order. I know JLCPCB requires a minimum of 5 boards to do a run, so even if it's not meaningfully cheaper to do small batches, at least we could split the 5 or 10 amongst a group.

[larrylay80-netizen]

Also, Id be interested in purchasing a couple right now! 😁

[Calst54]

No problem for me to buy two or three assembled boards. (Switzerland)

[decriptor]

I'd be interested. I was thinking about ordering the double sided boards in the 5 bundle. (I'm in the US)

[VRFins]

Super interested, I'm not very crafty, and this would help a ton!

[jamro]

Quick update on the Main Board availability.

I’m currently validating PCBWay as an alternative manufacturing and assembly provider in #63. The goal is to make sure the current board can be produced there reliably, including the BOM, placement data, component sourcing and assembly flow.

If that goes well, the next step is to test PCBWay Shared Projects in #65. In the best case, this could give the community a much simpler way to order a single assembled board directly from PCBWay, without having to prepare manufacturing files or buy a larger batch.

Individual orders are already possible today and the full process is documented here:
https://github.com/jamro/tiny-engineer/blob/main/docs/hardware/order-main-control-board.md

The main downside is cost: small PCBA orders have relatively high fixed setup costs, and with JLCPCB you currently need to order at least 5 PCBs even if you only need one. So this path works and remains supported, but it is not the most economical option for a single Tiny Engineer.

I’m also keeping this interest check open. If interest continues to grow, there may be other options worth exploring later, such as larger production runs, better repeat-manufacturing pricing, or working with a hardware manufacturer/distributor that could take care of production and fulfilment. I don’t want to promise any of those yet, but stronger real demand would make them much more realistic.

Regional PCB Group Orders

In the meantime, the response here already looks strong enough that regional group orders may work well. Thanks to @jtruland for suggesting the idea of smaller regional group orders.

I’ve added a new Regional PCB Group Orders category in Discussions (#74), where people in the same country or region can find each other and independently organize a shared batch.

---

That gives us a few parallel paths:

• individual orders using the documented JLCPCB process
• direct single-board ordering, if PCBWay Shared Projects works well
• community-organized regional batches to reduce per-board cost
• potentially larger-scale manufacturing later, if demand justifies it

Thanks everyone for the interest so far... it’s very helpful in figuring out the simplest way to make the board accessible without adding unnecessary complexity.

[larrylay80-netizen]

Sure, I'll take 4

…

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-- Best Regards, Larry Lay (503) 901-1969