So esphome and esp6288/esp32 devices are very cool, and with a breadboard I can do amazing things with little effort, and they just sit there and work.
On a breadboard.
But… how do people turn these into something to actually deploy? E.g. I want a doorbell sensor (vibration sensor) that I will power with a micro-usb power supply. I’d like it in a case and attached to the wall.
I can solder it together, wrap it in tape or some such, and stuff it into a project box I guess, but that seems pretty kludgy. And large since the components don’t mate up but need wires.
I’ve seen a few projects with 3D printer cases, but I have no 3D printer and don’t really want a new expensive hobby.
Maybe I’m just not giving google the right keywords – how do you put together a project you could turn into a “home production” quality device? Do you buy a blank PCB and use it kind of like a breadboard and put components there, then just stuff it in a box? Or lots of heat shrink and tape?
Or is there a source for mountable, and mount-compatible components to build a “final” not a development result?
I’ve done a couple rPi things, and there’s all sorts of headers and shields, that fit inside of custom cases readily available. Am I just missing it for esp stuff?
If it requires many single components you’ll need a circuit board, if you don’t want to complicate yourself, using perfboards is no too hard. I like these
Now I’ve seen many people going solderless at most, which is nice, they would use all components with pin headers and use dupont wires to connect them, as an improvement to that you might like different sized headers so you can arrange a big connector for each device you should attach, yes, even the nodemcu which usually comes with presoldered headers, attach a dupont wire to whatever you need. Cool thing it is so easy to dissasemble.
I don’t recommend crimping your own wires, unless you enjoy it, it is not easy, but you can get these and reassemble them with the header size you need.
To fix pars a working solution is using screw posts you can drill holes right size in a plastic box or whatever and fix the posts there, then you screw the breakout components there, most have big holes for this.
Look at thingiverse.com. You can use the services there to have the designs printed and sent to you. No breadboards, but you’ll need Dupont connectors.
The other thing is that there are good tutorials around for designing PCBs, and very cheap service to make them for you. Yes you’ll need to solder stuff on to them, but it can make a very nice “product”.
@glmnet thanks for the pointers. The little PCB boards look quite useful, but I am unclear how they get used. They look like each hole is separate (as opposed to a breadboard with strings connected together), are they big enough for a pin and a wire, for example, to connect together? Or do you connect by a solder bridge? Sorry if this is too basic of a question. I’m not afraid to solder, having done hundreds of old RS232 connectors and related, but never built stuff from scratch.
@minsuke , yeah, trying to avoid getting my own printer - space, time, money, etc. But @nanobra1n doing one online is a real possibility. Though time consuming with trial and error.
Does no one make some “standard” sized cases for the ESPxxx form factors? Or do you get a largish PCB as above and screw it in a project box? That latter is starting to seem like the most likely?
I got a care package from amazon yesterday with a variety of new sensors and ESP8266 cards with holes not pre-soldered pins, so planning to experiment a bit tomorrow. First thing I need is two little cards about the same size, may try to just stuff them in a piece of PVC with caps.
I made a very simple project last week, being just a power supply and a Wemos D1 mini to power / control a LED strip. Since the Wemos D1 mini has no mounting point I just drilled a small hole next to the wifi antenna and screwed threw that to a mounting point in the enclosure lid. For the power supply I drilled holes in the same enclosure lid to line up with mounting points in the power supply and screwed it down. As I say, very basic.
Yes they are all isolated points but they are all double sided and pass thru, so you can put components both sides of the board, those boards are really good quality. You need jumper wires, the single cored are easier to put into the holes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4ZRPEY/ref=psdc_495310_t1_B07SQNFHR9
There is no standard size esp device, so there is no standard esp case.
@nickrout I understand but there are some widely used ones (at least widely advertised), just a bit surprised not accompanied by mounting. But I’m learning.
@glmnet thanks. I’ve been just cutting up solid cat5e cable because I had so much, which is 24G but probably should get something more normal.
@sparkydave thank you. I really think that’s the answer, get a some various project boxes and stop obsessing that they are not really the right size, and just screw them down, or glue some brackets in them to screw into. Or maybe just double sided tape (though I need to check if it’s at all conductive I guess).
Here’s something I feel I am still missing. When you want to test one before soldering, what do you use?
The pins on the connectors (? name) that come with them are fine for solder, but don’t seem to make adequate contact for testing. Are there breadboard pins designed to compress into these in some way?
Speaking now for doing an initial test on a breadboard before assembly. Or were some of the dupont connectors mentioned above for that purpose?
I realize if I were going to assemble into a PCB I might just solder these in first here, but if I plan to just use wires I would want to keep the holes free.
Or do you just solder to test then remove the solder when done and resolder to wire? (Good for practice but seems bad for reliability).
In this case you can have one with header pins soldered and then the final one you use a brand new and do the soldering, if it is like it seems a D1 Mini, chances are the device will work exactly as the one in your bench.
chances are the device will work exactly as the one in your bench.
I’m naturally paranoid but I guess for the price of these things that makes sense and if it doesn’t, solder one with pins and then later one with wires.
Another reason I think why there aren’t many “standard” cases is that every project seems to include a different mix of sensors and other additions (screens, buttons etc). This makes it harder to make a generic case. Also, although you & I don’t have one, many “maker” people have a 3D printer, or access to one.