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2 layersDuck pcb, the printed circuit board in 3D

A wirelessly-charged LED rubber duck for debugging. Custom PCB with RGB LEDs and rechargeable battery fits inside a Kmart duck. Charges on a 3D-printed "DEBUGGING IN PROGRESS" stand.

Copper layers
2
Thickness
1.6 mm
Parts
16
Nets
32
Pads
105
Tracks, vias
151, 0
Routed
Yes
KiCad
KiCad 9.0 (file 20241229)
Created
15 Oct 2025
Updated
29 Oct 2025

Overview

Duck pcb is an open-source printed circuit board by vindognz, from the vindognz/QuackOverflow repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board with 16 parts on 32 nets, routed with 151 tracks and 0 vias.

It is built around the ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-H4, TP4056-42-ESOP8 and WS2812B. Its parts include 5 diodes, 4 resistors, 2 capacitors, 2 ICs and 2 connectors. It belongs with the ESP32 and RISC-V boards of this library.

Main components

3

README

README.md

QuackOverflow

A wirelessly-charged LED rubber duck for debugging. Custom PCB with RGB LEDs and rechargeable battery fits inside a Kmart duck. Charges on a 3D-printed "DEBUGGING IN PROGRESS" stand. Because explaining your code to a glowing duck is more fun than regular rubber duck debugging.

Features

  • 5x RGB LEDs
  • Wireless Qi charging
  • Auto-sleep when on charging pad
  • Low battery warning (red flash)
  • Custom PCB fits inside $2 Kmart duck

Hardware

  • ESP32-C3 microcontroller
  • WS2812B RGB LEDs
  • LiPo battery with Qi charging
  • Custom PCB
  • 3D printed charging base

The Story

Rubber duck debugging is a real technique where programmers explain their code line-by-line to an inanimate object (traditionally a rubber duck) to help spot bugs. I was gifted this duck as a coding companion for my birthday. I always imagined it glowing for those 2am debugging sessions. This project aims to make that dream a reality.

Parts

16
QtyValueFootprintReferences
5WS2812BLED_SMD:LED_WS2812B_PLCC4_5.0x5.0mm_P3.2mmD1, D2, D3, D4, D5
2100nFCapacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric_Pad1.33x1.80mm_HandSolderC1, C2
25.1kResistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric_Pad1.30x1.75mm_HandSolderR3, R4
110kΩResistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric_Pad1.30x1.75mm_HandSolderR1
1330ΩResistor_SMD:R_1206_3216Metric_Pad1.30x1.75mm_HandSolderR2
1Battery_CellConnector_PinHeader_1.00mm:PinHeader_1x02_P1.00mm_VerticalBT1
1ESP32-C3-WROOM-02Espressif:ESP32-C3-WROOM-02U3
1Qi_RecieverConnector_PinHeader_1.00mm:PinHeader_1x02_P1.00mm_VerticalJ1
1TP4056-42-ESOP8Package_SO:SOIC-8-1EP_3.9x4.9mm_P1.27mm_EP2.41x3.3mm_ThermalViasU2
1USB_C_Receptacle_USB2.0_14PConnector_USB:USB_C_Receptacle_HRO_TYPE-C-31-M-12J2

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Questions

What parts does the Duck pcb use?

16 parts, built around the ESP32-C3-WROOM-02-H4, TP4056-42-ESOP8 and WS2812B. 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 Duck pcb KiCad files?

From the vindognz/QuackOverflow repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is kicad/duck-pcb/duck_pcb.kicad_pcb and its schematic kicad/base-pcb/base-pcb.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.

Can I use the Duck pcb design in my own project?

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