2 layers36 × 47 mm Mad, the printed circuit board in 3D

Mad

Q: How big is the Mad PCB?

It measures 36 × 47 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.

Q: What parts does the Mad use?

48 parts, built around the AO3416A, BZV55B5V6 and TA20-11SRWA. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Q: Where can I download the Mad KiCad files?

From the 0x007E/mad repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is pcb/MAD.kicad_pcb and its schematic pcb/MAD.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Q: Can I use the Mad design in my own project?

Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask 0x007E before reusing the design.

0x007E/mad

Matrix Display

Open in PCBKit

Size: 36 × 47 mm
Copper layers: 2
Thickness: 1.6 mm
Parts: 48
Nets: 45
Pads: 131
Tracks, vias: 130, 41
Pours: 2
Routed: Yes
KiCad: KiCad 7 (file 20221018)
Created: 14 Oct 2024
Updated: 25 Feb 2026

Overview

Mad is an open-source printed circuit board by 0x007E, from the 0x007E/mad repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 36 × 47 mm with 48 parts on 45 nets, routed with 130 tracks and 41 vias.

It is built around the AO3416A, BZV55B5V6 and TA20-11SRWA. Its parts include 12 transistors, 10 resistors, 4 capacitors, 3 diodes and 2 connectors. It belongs with the lEDs and displays boards and the AVR (ATmega, ATtiny) boards of this library.

Main components

README

README.md

`MAD` - Matrix Display

The MAD project is based on a pcb with an ATtiny406/ATtiny1606 and a Matrix LED Display. It can be used to display data sent over SPI or UART. The display also implements a small amount of characters from the ASCII table and also has internal space (EEPROM) for 16 special characters that can be programmed.

Experience	Level
Soldering
Mechanical
Software

Downloads

Type	File	Description
Schematic	pdf / cadlab	Schematic files
Board	pdf / cadlab	Board file
Drill	pdf	Drill file
PCB	zip / tar	KiCAD/Gerber/BoM/Drill files
Mechanical	zip / tar	FreeCAD/Housing and PCB (STEP) files
Firmware	zip / tar	Firmware for ATtiny406/ATtiny1606 (Display)
Firmware (demo)	zip / tar	Test application(s) for ATmega16a

Hardware

There are two parts of the hardware. The pcb and the housing of the MAD. The pcb is created with KiCAD and the housing with FreeCAD. The software is programmed with Microchip (Atmel) Studio. All files are built with github actions so that they are ready for a production environment. The housing is printed with a 3D-printer (Dremel 3D40).

PCB

The circuit board is populated on both sides (Top, Bottom). The best way for soldering the SMD components is within a vapor phase soldering system and for the THT components with a standard soldering system.

Top Layer

Bottom Layer

Mechanical

The housing has a tolerance of 0.2mm on each side of the case. So the pcb should fit perfectly in the housing. The tolerance can be modified with FreeCAD in the Parameter Spreadsheet.

Assembled

Exploded

Programming/Setup

The MAD is powerd with 5V from an external source. With Jumper JP1 bridged the MAD can be programmed over UPDI. To enable UART mode the SS (CS) Pin must be held low (more details on the dataflow diagram) otherwise the SPI mode is enabled. In UART mode only one display can be driven. The SI pin gets TXDand the SO pin gets RXD. The firmware for the display can be downloaded (see the download section).

bash

#         +-+                                         +----------+      +---------------------+
#        / /                                          |   U  +---+---+  |                     |
#      +-+-+-----------------+                        |   S  |  USB  |--+ +-----------------+ |
#      | JP1                 |                        |   B  +---+---+  | | AVR-Dude        | |
#      |    MAD - Display    |       +---------+      |   /      |      | | ~~~~~~~~        | |
#    +-+-+                 +-+-+   +-+-+  U    |      |   U      |      | | ~~~~~           | |
#    | 1 | VCC         VCC | 1 +---+VCC|  P  +-+-+  +-+-+ A      |      | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~    | |
#    | 2 | UPDI       UPDI | 2 +---+PDI|  D  |GND+--+GND| R      |      | |                 | |
#    | 3 | SI           SO | 3 |   +-+-+  I  |VCC+--+VCC| T      |      | +-----------------+ |
#    | 4 | SCK         SCK | 4 |     |       +---+  +---+ A      |      |                     |
#    | 5 | SS (CS)      SS | 5 +   +-+-+     |RxD+--+RxD| +------+      | Computer            |
#    | 6 | GND         GND | 6 +---+GND|     |TxD+--+TxD| |5V/3V3|      |                     |
#    +-+-+                 +-+-+   +-+-+     +-+-+  +-+-+ +------+      +---------------------+
#      +---------------------+       | ADAPTER |      +----+-----+
#                                    +---------+

FUSES

Register	Value
`WDTCFG`	`0x00`
`BODCFG`	`0x00`
`OSCCFG`	`0x02`
`TCD0CFG`	`0x00`
`SYSCFG0`	`0xF5`
`SYSCFG1`	`0x00`
`APPEND`	`0x00`
`BOOTEND`	`0x00`

To setup SW1 as RESET (PA0) it is necessary to change the SYSCFG0-FUSE of the ATtiny406/ATtiny1606. WARNING: To reset the PA0 pin to UPDI mode a 12V impulse is necessary to program the FUSES again.

Software

The display software can be controlled by SPI or UART. The interfaces are displayed in the dataflow diagram. There is a demo software to use the display directly over spi (MAD_Test) or a library (MAD_LIB).

Dataflow diagram

Dataflow

UART Test

To send characters to the display over UART connect an USB/UART converter to the PC and make a bridge beween GND and SS (CS) before powering up the display. Start a terminal software on the computer (e.g. Teraterm) and setup the following settings:

Name	Value
PORT	COM?
BAUD	9600
DATABITS	8
PARITY	NONE
STOPBITS	1
FLOWCTRL	NONE

Connection setup

bash

#      +---------------------+                                +---------------------+
#      |    MAD - Display    |                                |                     |
#    +-+-+                 +-+-+                              | +-----------------+ |
#    | 1 | VCC         VCC | 1 +-------+    +----------+      | | TeraTerm        | |
#    | 2 | UPDI       UPDI | 2 |       |    |   U  +---+---+  | | ~~~~~~~~        | |
#    | 3 | SI           SO | 3 +-----+ |    |   S  |  USB  |--+ | ~~~~~           | |
#    | 4 | SCK         SCK | 4 |     | |    |   B  +---+---+  | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~    | |
#    | 5 | SS (CS)      SS | 5 +--+  | |    |   /      |      | |                 | |
# +--+ 6 | GND         GND | 6 +--+  | |    |   U      |      | +-----------------+ |
# |  +-+-+                 +-+-+     | |  +-+-+ A      |      |                     |
# |    +---------------------+       | +--+VCC| R      |      | Computer            |
# |                                  +----+TxD| T      |      |                     |
# |                                       |RxD| +------+      +---------------------+
# +---------------------------------------+GND| |5V/3V3|
#                                         +-+-+ +------+
#                                           +----+-----+

SPI Test

The firmware itself contains some demos how to use the display over spi. The demo software itself is written for an ATmega16A. To test the display a connection to the spi pins between the display and the ATmega16Ais necessary.

Connection setup

bash

# ~------------+
# ~          +-+-+
# ~          |VCC+------+
# ~          +-+-+       \        +---------------------+
# ~            |          \       |     MAD - Display   |
# ~  A       +-+-+         \    +-+-+                 +-+-+
# ~  T   [7] | P +- SCK -+  +---+ 1 | VCC         VCC | 1 |
# ~  M       | O |        \     | 2 | UPDI       UPDI | 2 |
# ~  E       | R +- MOSI --\----+ 3 | SI           SO | 3 |
# ~  G       | T +-- SS -+  +---+ 4 | SCK         SCK | 4 |
# ~  A       | B |       +------+ 5 | SS (CS)      SS | 5 |
# ~          |   |           +--+ 6 | GND         GND | 6 |
# ~  1       |   |          /   +-+-+                 +-+-+
# ~  6   [0] |   |         /      |                     |
# ~  A       +-+-+        /       +---------------------+
# ~            |         /
# ~          +-+-+      /
# ~          |GND+-----+
# ~          +-+-+
# ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPI Parameter

To control the display through SPI the bus of the master needs the following setup:

Parameter	Value	Description
Clock	< 1Mhz	Bus clock speed should not exceed this value
Direction	MSB	MSB needs to be transmitted first
Polarity	Rising	Polarity of clock is rising `_/`
Phase	Rising	Data is valid when clock is rising `_/`

Detail can be found here

SPI Frame

bash

# SPI display transmission
# _                                                SS                                                _
#  \________________________________________________________________________________________________/
#                                                 SCK   
#     __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    
# ___/1 \__/2 \__/3 \__/4 \__/5 \__/6 \__/7 \__/8 \__/9 \__/10\__/11\__/12\__/13\__/14\__/15\__/16\___
#                                                 MOSI
#    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __    __
# __/C \__/T \__/R \__/L \__/B \__/Y \__/T \__/E \__/D \__/A \__/T \__/A \__/B \__/Y \__/T \__/E \____
#   \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/  \__/
#    [7                   :                    0]    [7                   :                    0]

SPI Commands

To enable a bit it needs to be set to on ($1=ON$). To disable a bit it is necessary to set it to off ($0=OFF$).

Control-Byte	Data-Bit(s)	Description
`0x00`	`0xXX`	No operation
`0x01`	`[4:0]`	ROW1 LEDs
...	...	...
`0x07`	`[4:0]`	ROW7 LEDs
`0x08`	`[6:0]`	Show ASCII character on display
`0x10`	`0xXX`	Clear buffer
`0x1F`	`[0]`	Enable display
`0x20`	`0xXX`	Copy EEPROM address (0) to display
...	...	...
`0x2F`	`0xXX`	Copy EEPROM address (15) to display
`0x30`	`0xXX`	Copy Display content to EEPROM address (0)
...	...	...
`0x3F`	`0xXX`	Copy Display content to EEPROM address (15)
`0xF0`	`0xXX`	Display refresh rate LOW byte
`0xF1`	`0xXX`	Display refresh rate HIGH byte
`0xFF`	`0xXX`	RESET the SPI queue

Example Library (`matrix.h`)

With the attached demo library (MAD_LIB) it is quiet easy to use the display. To setup the matrix display library some defines needs to be adjusted.

// Setup the number of displays that are cascaded
#ifndef MATRIX_DISPLAYS
    #define MATRIX_DISPLAYS 2
#endif

#include "../lib/matrix/matrix.h"

int main(void)
{
    matrix_init();
    matrix_reset();
    _delay_ms(MATRIX_RESET_RECOVERY_TIME_MS);
    matrix_enable();

    matrix_char(1, 'A');
    _delay_ms(1000);
    matrix_char(2, 'B');

    matrix_frame(buffer);
    // ...
}

Additional Information

Type	Link	Description
ATtiny406	pdf	ATtiny microcontroller
ATtiny1606	pdf	ATtiny microcontroller
ATmega16A	pdf	Microchip ATmega16A Datasheet
TA20-11SRWA	pdf	Dot Matrix Dispaly
Atmel ICE	pdf	Atmel ICE datasheet
UPDI	web	UPDI-Adapter with AVR-Dude
Microchip Studio	web	Download page for Microchip Studio
KiCAD	web	KiCAD project page
FreeCAD	web	FreeCAD project page
TeraTerm	web	Terminal software for UART

R. GAECHTER

Parts

Qty	Value	Footprint	References
7	15	Resistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric	R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8
7	AO3416A	Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23	Q1, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q9, Q11, Q12
7	TestPoint_Probe	TestPoint:TestPoint_Pad_D1.0mm	TP1, TP2, TP3, TP4, TP5, TP6, TP7
5	AO3419A	Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23	Q2, Q4, Q6, Q8, Q10
2	10u	Capacitor_Tantalum_SMD:CP_EIA-6032-28_Kemet-C	C1, C2
2	M3	MountingHole:MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_DIN965_Pad	H1, H2
1	100n	Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric	C3
1	10k	Resistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric	R10
1	180	Resistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric	R9
1	330	Resistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric	R1
1	ATtiny__06-S	Package_SO:SOIC-20W_7.5x12.8mm_P1.27mm	U1
1	BIN	Symbol:WEEE-Logo_4.2x6mm_SilkScreen	FID3
1	BZV55B5V6	Diode_SMD:D_MiniMELF	D3
1	Conn_01x06_Pin	Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x06_P2.54mm_Horizontal	J1
1	Conn_01x06_Socket	Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x06_P2.54mm_Horizontal	J2
1	ESD	Symbol:ESD-Logo_6.6x6mm_SilkScreen	FID1
1	Fuse	Fuse:Fuse_1206_3216Metric	F1
1	Jumper_2_Open	Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x02_P2.54mm_Horizontal	JP1
1	LED	LED_SMD:LED_1206_3216Metric	D2
1	OH	Symbol:OSHW-Logo_5.7x6mm_SilkScreen	FID2
1	QR	Images:QR_0x007e	FID4
1	SW_Push	Button_Switch_SMD:SW_SPST_PTS645	SW1
1	TA20-11SRWA	Display_Matrix:LED_TA20-11SRWA	D1
1	n.B.	Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric	C5

Questions

How big is the Mad PCB?

It measures 36 × 47 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.

What parts does the Mad use?

48 parts, built around the AO3416A, BZV55B5V6 and TA20-11SRWA. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.

Where can I download the Mad KiCad files?

From the 0x007E/mad repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is pcb/MAD.kicad_pcb and its schematic pcb/MAD.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Can I use the Mad design in my own project?

Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask 0x007E before reusing the design.

Category and platform

LEDs and displays AVR (ATmega, ATtiny)

Topics

3d-printing display dot-matrix-led firmware programming spi teaching electronics developing prototyping smd soldering tht

Project files

Show this board on your page

A live frame, for any web page

<iframe src="https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/0x007e-mad" title="Mad in PCBKit" width="100%" height="480" style="border:0;border-radius:12px" allow="fullscreen" loading="lazy"></iframe>

A picture

<img src="https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/0x007e-mad.jpg" alt="Mad" width="1200" height="900">

A picture that opens the board, for a README

[![Mad](https://pcbkit.io/embed/boards/0x007e-mad.jpg?size=s)](https://pcbkit.io/boards/0x007e-mad)

Source

Repository: 0x007E/mad
Board file: pcb/MAD.kicad_pcb
Commit: 5a08d91
Licence: Not stated

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Overview

Main components

AO3416A

BZV55B5V6

TA20-11SRWA

README

MAD - Matrix Display

Downloads

Hardware

PCB

Top Layer

Bottom Layer

Mechanical

Assembled

Exploded

Programming/Setup

FUSES

Software

Dataflow diagram

UART Test

Connection setup

SPI Test

Connection setup

SPI Parameter

SPI Frame

SPI Commands

Example Library (matrix.h)

Additional Information

Parts

Questions

How big is the Mad PCB?

What parts does the Mad use?

Where can I download the Mad KiCad files?

Can I use the Mad design in my own project?

Similar boards

`MAD` - Matrix Display

Example Library (`matrix.h`)