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Build your own board

Every BeeHive board is either a mainboard (carries a microcontroller) or a daughter board (does one job). If the function you need isn't in the ingredients catalogue, you design a new daughter board. This guide summarises the design rules and how to submit it.

The workflow is simple: pick a function, design to the rules, then submit via the repo.

What to design it in

Use KiCad — a free, open-source, cross-platform EDA suite for schematic capture and PCB layout. It's the standard FOSS tool for this, and it's what BeeHive's own boards are drawn in, so you can open any existing board's .kicad_pcb from the ingredients catalogue (each board links its KiCad files) as a starting point or reference. KiCad also exports the gerbers and bill of materials the fab houses and Kitspace need.

Mechanical parts

If your board needs a 3D-printed frame, mount or enclosure, design those in FreeCAD (open-source parametric CAD). KiCad can hand off the board outline and 3D model to it.

1. Pick a function

A daughter board does one thing — drive an actuator or read a sensor. If you find yourself putting two unrelated functions on one board, that's two boards. Keeping boards single-function is what lets them mix and match across recipes.

2. Design to the rules

Strict rules

These are non-negotiable — they are what make a board a BeeHive board.

  • Two board types only. Mainboards carry the MCU; daughter boards do not. A daughter board never hosts a microcontroller.
  • The 4-pin connector. Every board connects through the standard 4-pin connector: two GPIO data lines, power, and ground. Design your board's interface around exactly those four pins.

Follow these so the board stays cheap, hand-buildable and easy to share.

  • 1–2 PCB layers. Keep it to one or two copper layers so the board can be home-etched, CNC-milled or perfboarded — or ordered cheaply from JLCPCB, PCBWay, OSH Park or Aisler.
  • Through-hole components so the board can be hand-soldered. See Soldering.
  • Populate one side only, to keep assembly and mounting simple.
  • Label the board with the connector pin identifiers, the daughter-board name and its version.
  • Use a preferred size: Big — 71 × 45.5 mm or Small — 48.5 × 45.5 mm. If the layout is cramped, size up rather than shrinking traces.
  • Four M3 mounting holes, with centres 3.5 mm from the edges.

If in doubt, reach out

The rules are guidelines, not a straitjacket. If your board needs to bend one, ask — open an issue or discussion on the BeeHive repository before committing to a layout.

3. Submit via the repo

Once your board works, contribute it back so it can join the ingredients catalogue: open a pull request or issue on the BeeHive repository with your schematic, board files and a short description of the function.

Source

Design rules and board templates: BeeHive repository.