GPC

General Purpose Controller Board

The Motivation

This is a project I am starting that is a general-function PCB for education. Something I struggled with when I was getting into the world of ECE was finding information that wasn't as simple as Arduino, but also not as complex as industrial PLCs. So, I am making this project. a happy medium is something I know others want, and hopefully, this will help with this problem. This is a full board, as opposed to a hat for an Arduino, as I want this to be easy to use. By the point a person gets to learning this stuff, they should have already mastered using a breadboard and connecting things to it. This just led me to decide to make it all one PCB.

What is it?

GPC is an educational development board, with the following features:

1. 2 Stepper Drivers
2. 2 DC Motor Drivers
3. RP2040 Chip
4. And more!

This is just a fun little open-source project I am doing hopefully to make the fun world of electronics circuits, and programming seem more accessible.

Timeline

Right now this project is in development. I am finishing the PCB design, and looking to order a test batch soon. The goal is to have the boards finalized by the end of 2024, or at the latest March of 2025. Then I will need to make documentation for this project. This should hopefully be done not long after the boards are public (1-2 Months - 3 at the latest). This isn't an area I want to skimp on. High-quality documentation is important, especially as this is a project that aims to be educational.

Cost

The ideal budget for this is $50 per board. This will allow the board to have plenty of functions, and still be high quality.