2 layers171.1 × 185.1 mm
Mpuled
abbounassima2/STM32-PLC-Runtime-Engine-and-PCB
An STM32F407-based PLC runtime engine developed in Embedded C, together with a custom PLC controller PCB and a Renode-based simulation environment.
189 parts
2 layers76.2 × 62.9 mm
Controller board
kercle/microscopyA small microscope automation project with a nice UI and processing capabilities (for now in particular focus stacking).
- Size
- 76.2 × 62.9 mm
- Copper layers
- 2
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 18
- Nets
- 41
- Pads
- 106
- Tracks, vias
- 34, 76
- Pours
- 10
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 9.0 (file 20241229)
- Created
- 31 Oct 2025
- Updated
- 22 Jan 2026
Overview
Controller board is an open-source printed circuit board by kercle, from the kercle/microscopy repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 76.2 × 62.9 mm with 18 parts on 41 nets, routed with 34 tracks and 76 vias.
It is built around the ESP32-WROOM-32U, XL4015E1 and AMS1117, with the 330UF 25V 8*12 among its other parts. Its parts include 6 capacitors, 3 ICs, 3 connectors, 2 resistors and 1 diode. It belongs with the ESP32 boards of this library.
Main components
4
ESP32-WROOM-32U
SMD,19.2x18mm-40℃~+85℃ -97dBm 2.4GHz 20.5dBm 3V~3.6V Bluetooth4.2 ESP32-DOWD UART、SDIO、SPI、I2C、GPIO、PWM、ADC、DAC、CAN SMD,19.2x18mm WiFi Modules ROHSEspressif SystemsWiFi Modules
XL4015E1
TO-263-5-40℃~+125℃ 1 1.25V~32V 180kHz 5A 5mA 8V~36V Adjustable Buck Buck Built-in No TO-263-5 DC-DC Converters ROHSXLSEMIDC-DC Converters
AMS1117
1.0 A Low-Dropout Fixed RegulatorAdvanced Monolithic SystemsUncategorised330UF 25V 8*12
CAP-TH12mm 2000hrs@105℃ 25V 3.5mm 330uF 340mA@120Hz 8mm 插件,8x12mm Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded ROHSCXAluminum Electrolytic Capacitors - Leaded
README
README.mdMicroscope automation project
This is a small passion project of mine in which I implement a few automations to my Bresser Researcher Trino 40-1000x. A few design-goals are:
- Minimally intrusive in the sense that the changes to the microscope should be revertible as much as possible.
- The microscope should still be fully usable in the original (analogue) way.
Gallery
A few composite images obtained by focus stacking:
| Daphnia | Spider mite | Unknown mite |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
| Notes: The sample was treated with bleach in order to immobilize organisms. Brownian motion was prevented by stabilizing the sample in Xanthan gum. | Notes: The sample was frozen to immobilize the specimen. It was taken from one of my house plants. | Notes: The sample was collected from the soil in one of my house plants. It was immobilized by freezing. Possibly of the order Mesostigmata. |
Hardware
Electronics
The control electronics is split between two controllers. The low-level control is handled by an ESP32 microcontroller, with the stepping motors being driven by TMC2208 stepper drivers.
The high-level control is handled by a Raspberry Pi 4, however the housing also allows for the installation of a Jetson Nano device instead of the Raspberry Pi.
The Raspberry Pi and ESP32 communicate over a serial connection (UART) using a custom protocol.
Software
User interface and backend
The user interface is a web application served by the Raspberry Pi. The frontend is built using Svelte, Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI. The backend is a Rust application using the Axum framework.
Firmware
The ESP32 firmware is written in Rust using the esp-idf framework and embassy.
Roadmap / Ideas for future work
- Motorized z-axis with endstops for focusing
- Web interface for controlling the microscope
- Live view from camera with controls for exposure, gain, white balance, etc.
- Z-stack acquisition
- Build custom focus knob which interacts with the microcontroller to allow for manual focusing when not using the web interface.
- Motorized stage for x/y movement
- Build custom stage knobs which interact with the microcontroller to allow for manual x/y
- Objective turret slot detection
- Substage illumination control
- Incident illumination
Parts
18| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 105 | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C1, C2, CC1 |
| 2 | 10uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C3, C4 |
| 1 | 10K | Resistor_SMD:R_0805_2012Metric | R2 |
| 1 | 220uF/50V | Capacitor_SMD:CP_Elec_10x10 | CIN1 |
| 1 | 22uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C6 |
| 1 | 3.3K | Resistor_SMD:R_0805_2012Metric | R1 |
| 1 | 330uF/25V | Capacitor_SMD:CP_Elec_10x10 | COUT1 |
| 1 | 47uH/5A | Inductor_SMD:L_Chilisin_BMRF00131360 | L1 |
| 1 | AMS1117 | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-223-3_TabPin2 | U2 |
| 1 | B540 | Diode_SMD:D_SMA | D1 |
| 1 | ESP32-WROOM-32U | RF_Module:ESP32-WROOM-32U | U3 |
| 1 | FAN | Connector_JST:JST_VH_B2P-VH-FB-B_1x02_P3.96mm_Vertical | J3 |
| 1 | JIN | TerminalBlock:TerminalBlock_Altech_AK300-2_P5.00mm | J1 |
| 1 | SBC | Connector_JST:JST_VH_B2P-VH-FB-B_1x02_P3.96mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | XL4015 | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:TO-263-5_TabPin3 | U1 |
Questions
How big is the Controller board PCB?
It measures 76.2 × 62.9 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the Controller board use?
18 parts, built around the ESP32-WROOM-32U, XL4015E1, AMS1117 and 330UF 25V 8*12. 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 Controller board KiCad files?
From the kercle/microscopy repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is hardware/controller-board/controller-board.kicad_pcb and its schematic hardware/controller-board/controller-board.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Controller board design in my own project?
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask kercle before reusing the design.
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