Compact KiCad PCB Design
Budget: $30 – $250 USD
PCB Design Brief
Timeline Media Dock Controller Board
This project requires a KiCad PCB design for the first prototype of a open source Media Dock.
The dock is a hardware reader device used to interact with physical Media Volumes, which are media cartridges containing either storage media (SD card) or NFC identification tags.
The board will be installed inside a dock enclosure and connected to a front display.
Core Features
The PCB must include support for the following components:
Microcontroller
ESP32 module (recommended) or equivalent microcontroller suitable for handling:
SD card access
NFC communication
display control
system logic
NFC Reader
The board must include an NFC reader chip (such as PN532 or equivalent) used to detect and read NFC tags embedded in Timeline media cartridges.
The NFC antenna placement should be positioned near the cartridge insertion point.
SD Card Interface
The system must support reading SD storage from the inserted media cartridge.
This will be connected through the cartridge edge connector.
Edge Connector Interface
The board must connect to a media cartridge slot using edge contacts.
The PCB should expose signals necessary for:
power
ground
SPI communication
NFC interaction if needed
future expansion
The edge interface is one of the most important parts of the design.
Display Connector
The board must support a small front display.
Recommended display type:
SPI TFT display (approx 2–3 inches).
The PCB should include appropriate header pins or connector.
USB-C Power Input
The dock will be powered through USB-C.
USB-C will primarily supply power to the system.
Optional serial communication support is acceptable but not required.
Status LEDs
The board should include:
power LED
activity LED
error/status LED
These will assist debugging and user feedback.
Deliverables
The PCB designer should provide:
KiCad project files
schematic
PCB layout
manufacturing-ready gerbers
board outline definition
connector footprints
basic documentation
The design must be clean, readable, and suitable for open-source release.
Timeline Media Dock Controller Board
This project requires a KiCad PCB design for the first prototype of a open source Media Dock.
The dock is a hardware reader device used to interact with physical Media Volumes, which are media cartridges containing either storage media (SD card) or NFC identification tags.
The board will be installed inside a dock enclosure and connected to a front display.
Core Features
The PCB must include support for the following components:
Microcontroller
ESP32 module (recommended) or equivalent microcontroller suitable for handling:
SD card access
NFC communication
display control
system logic
NFC Reader
The board must include an NFC reader chip (such as PN532 or equivalent) used to detect and read NFC tags embedded in Timeline media cartridges.
The NFC antenna placement should be positioned near the cartridge insertion point.
SD Card Interface
The system must support reading SD storage from the inserted media cartridge.
This will be connected through the cartridge edge connector.
Edge Connector Interface
The board must connect to a media cartridge slot using edge contacts.
The PCB should expose signals necessary for:
power
ground
SPI communication
NFC interaction if needed
future expansion
The edge interface is one of the most important parts of the design.
Display Connector
The board must support a small front display.
Recommended display type:
SPI TFT display (approx 2–3 inches).
The PCB should include appropriate header pins or connector.
USB-C Power Input
The dock will be powered through USB-C.
USB-C will primarily supply power to the system.
Optional serial communication support is acceptable but not required.
Status LEDs
The board should include:
power LED
activity LED
error/status LED
These will assist debugging and user feedback.
Deliverables
The PCB designer should provide:
KiCad project files
schematic
PCB layout
manufacturing-ready gerbers
board outline definition
connector footprints
basic documentation
The design must be clean, readable, and suitable for open-source release.
Related categories:
Electronics
CAD/CAM
Microcontroller
PCB Layout
Digital Design
Circuit Design
Embedded Systems
Mechanical Design