Blog & Build Logs

Build logs & maker notes.

Open builds, PCB deep-dives, firmware walkthroughs, and the occasional "that was dumb" post-mortem.

All PCB Design Firmware 3D Printing Manufacturing

ESP32-S3 custom board

PCB Design May 28, 2025

ESP32-S3 custom board from schematic to Gerber in a weekend

We walked through the full PCB design flow for a custom ESP32-S3 dev board: schematic capture in KiCad, layout decisions, and the DFM gotchas we learned the hard way.

OTA firmware update flow

Firmware May 15, 2025

OTA updates on ESP32 without bricking yourself

Partition schemes, rollback strategies, and why you should always test the OTA process before you ship a device to a customer who's 200km away.

FDM enclosure print

3D Printing May 3, 2025

Getting enclosure tolerances right for FDM printing

Snap fits, board standoffs, lid tolerances. The specific numbers we use for PLA, PETG, and ABS on our printers, and why they differ.