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September 26, 2025September 29, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

A Catalyst for Open Source: NextPCB Launches KiCad Projects Platform to Fuel the Future of KiCad (Sponsored)

NextPCB, a global leader in PCB manufacturing and assembly solutions, proudly announces the launch of kicadprojects.com, a dynamic open-source community dedicated to supporting open-source hardware and enriching KiCad, the renowned open-source EDA tool for schematic capture and PCB layout. This initiative unites engineers, students, and innovators worldwide to share projects, collaborate, and support the KiCad community and core KiCad development. A Hub for Collaboration and Innovation Developed and maintained by NextPCB, a platinum KiCad sponsor, kicadprojects.com is more than a platform—it’s a thriving hub where the global KiCad community can: Share & Showcase Projects – Upload and explore innovative PCB designs, schematics, and tutorials. Streamline Collaboration – Download project files, generate automated BOMs, and visualize designs straight from your browser with NextPCB’s KiCad EDA viewer. Open Source, Open Impact In a bold commitment to open-source stewardship, NextPCB will donate $10 (USD) towards the KiCad Project for every approved project uploaded […]

September 3, 2025September 6, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

September Exclusives at PCBWay: Big Savings on PCBs and 3D Printing (Sponsored)

PCBWAY Limited Time Discount for PCB manufacturing and 3D printing in September 2025

This September, PCBWay is bringing you two exciting limited-time offers that showcase both style and versatility. Whether you’re designing with PCBs or prototyping with 3D printing, these will help you create more while spending less. Offer One: Free Purple Solder Mask in PCBs Tired of generic green solder mask? In September, switch things up—get purple PCBs, without any additional charge for color. Originally starting at $38.43, now you can get 10 purple PCBs for just $5. Purple PCBs not only add aesthetic value but also reflect creativity in your projects. Whether you’re showcasing your work at exhibitions, impressing clients with prototypes, or simply making your personal projects stand out, let’s seize this chance to create eye-catching boards now. Offer Two: TPU in 3D Printing – From $7.96 In addition to PCB manufacturing, PCBWay also offers high-quality 3D printing services. This month, TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is their highlight material. Normally starting […]

August 25, 2025September 22, 2025 by Sponsored Post - 9 Comments

ALLPCB offers one dollar PCB prototyping with free shipping (Sponsored)

ALLPCB one dollar PCB prototyping free worldwide shipping

For hobbyists, small businesses, and engineers in Europe and the United States, prototyping printed circuit boards (PCBs) is a critical step in turning innovative ideas into reality. However, one significant barrier often stands in the way: high shipping costs. These expenses can quickly inflate the total cost of small-scale PCB orders, making prototyping less accessible for individuals and startups with limited budgets. Few PCB manufacturers offer significant discounts on small-scale orders, and shipping fees can sometimes rival or even exceed the cost of the PCBs themselves, discouraging experimentation and innovation. To address this issue, ALLPCB, a leading PCB manufacturing and assembly provider, has launched an exciting new campaign designed to make PCB prototyping more affordable for everyone. New users can now enjoy $30 off their first PCB order, plus an additional $30 off shipping costs. What sets this offer apart is its flexibility—there are no limitations on PCB size, number […]

August 1, 2025August 1, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

microSD-express Pi Adapter is an ultra-small microSD Express adapter for the Raspberry Pi 5

Tiny microSD Express adapter for Raspberry Pi 5

We’ve just written about Will Whang’s RPI5-SDexpress-Hat board, which adds a microSD Express slot to the Raspberry Pi 5, but it’s not that small, and it’s using the 40-pin GPIO for power, so it’s not convenient if you want to install another Raspberry Pi HAT+. Vassily Petrov’s “microSD-express Pi Adapter” is a much smaller microSD Express adapter on a flexible PCB that plugs directly into the PCIe FFC connector and nothing else, driving power from the PCIe connector only. There’s not much on the PCB itself besides a microSD Express card slot and a Microchip MIC2230 800mA/800mA step-down DC/DC regulator. We’re told speeds of up to 800 MB/s are achievable, limited by the PCIe Gen3 x1 interface on the Pi 5 itself. For reference, the RPI5-SDexpress-Hat was tested at about 600 MB/s for sequential reads and under 200MB/s for sequential writes using a 256GB Samsung microSD Express card. A worry […]

July 7, 2025July 10, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

Get your carrier board for the LattePanda Mu x86 Compute Module manufactured for free, win prizes (Sponsored)

LattePanda MU Carrier Board Design Challenge

DFRobot and NextPCB are currently running a PCB design contest offering free PCB manufacturing and prizes worth up to $800 to people designing and submitting a carrier board design for the LattePanda Mu x86 Compute Module. As a reminder, the LattePanda Mu Compute Module is an x86 system-on-module initially launched with the Intel Processor N100 Alder Lake-N CPU, and later offered with a more powerful Core i3-N305 octa-core processor. It comes with up to 16GB LPDDR5-4800, 64GB eMMC 5.1 flash, and exposes I/Os through a 260-pin SO-DIMM connector. Arnon reviewed the LattePanda Mu (N100) with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04 using the two reference carrier boards from DFRobot. But now, the company wants to encourage the development of more carrier boards for the LattePanda Mu, hence the PCB design contest. So what can you win exactly? Winners selected by a panel of judges from DFRobot and NextPCB will be offered […]

June 30, 2025July 3, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

Join PCBWay’s 11th Anniversary Celebration — Coupons, Modules Are Waiting for You (Sponsored)

PCBWay, founded in 2014, has emerged as a global electronics manufacturing powerhouse, offering solutions spanning PCB design, fabrication, assembly, 3D printing, and CNC machining. This year marks their 11th anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, they’ve launched a series of promotional activities. Let’s get some coupons and win free gifts right now! Join the event: https://www.pcbway.com/activity/anniversary11th.html Promotion Period: 2025.6.18 – 2025.7.18 Sneak Peek: Ongoing Activities! Exclusive Coupons As a token of appreciation, they’re offering 9 base coupons plus up to 10 extra ones, totaling up to $485. With limited quantities available, don’t miss the chance to enjoy PCBWay’s high-quality services and save on your orders! Special Offers Cost-effectiveness has always been a priority for customers. Recognizing this, they provide great discounts on PCB & 3D orders, with savings of up to 60%. Get your 10 PCBs at only $5 now. Meanwhile, their module store is joining the celebration with special deals. […]

March 18, 2025March 19, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

You can now buy Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU for 80 cents and up, RP2354A and RP2354B variants coming soon

The Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core Cortex-M33/RISC-V MCU was first unveiled along with the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 in August 2024. Since then we have covered many Raspberry Pi RP2350 news and boards, but the microcontroller was hard to source for hobbyist and low-volume projects, which partially explains why companies like NextPCB had promotions offering free PCBA prototyping services for RP2350 designs. The good news is that Raspberry Pi has just announced general availability for the RP2350 microcontrollers starting at $0.80 per unit for the RP2350A in 3,400-piece reels, or $1.1 in single quantity, so anybody can buy the MCUs from their favorite distributor. The British company also announced the RP2354A and RP2354B variants with 2MB of stacked flash memory would soon be available to select partners and mass production will ramp up later this year. Here’s the current official pricing information for the RP2040 and RP2350 microcontrollers. Users can simply […]

March 10, 2025March 13, 2025 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

NextPCB offers free ESP32-S3 PCBA prototypes for original designs (Sponsored)

NextPCB has started offering free PCBA prototypes for PCB designs based on the ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller following a similar offer for free Raspberry Pi RP2040/RP2350 PCBAs launched in January 2025. The Chinese PCB/PCBA manufacturer’s new “accelerator campaign” targets developers, makers, and researchers who developed their own PCB based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller. They can get two free PCBA prototypes for the original design. Slots are however limited, and NextPCB will select 20 projects for sponsorship. If selected, you’ll get the following: Free Prototyping – Get 2 free PCBA units, including PCB fabrication, components, assembly, and worldwide shipping (valued up to $500 US). Technical Support – Get expert assistance with manufacturing engineering, design guidance, certification, and production. Personalized Assistance – Receive dedicated one-on-one support throughout your manufacturing journey. The company will prioritize business projects, but hobbyist designs that contribute to the open-source community and showcase interesting applications using ESP32-S3 will also […]