Brief Introduction

Have you ever wondered how you can come up with your custom-made microcontroller board? Yes! You don’t need to spend too much on already-made boards because there is a cheaper alternative. In this project, we have designed a simple Microcontroller board using the ATmega328p microchip. This is the simplest form of the Microcontroller board with the capability of suiting all your automated projects.

ATmega328p is an 8-bit, 28-Pin AVR Microcontroller, used in basic Arduino boards with a flash-type program memory of 32KB. The system works with an external crystal oscillator of 16MHz.

Components Required

C1      10pf, Capacitor_SMD:CP_Elec_3x5.4

C2      22pf, Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric

C3      10pf, Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric

C4      22pf, Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric

C5      100nF, Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric

D1      LED_STATUS, LED_SMD:LED_0402_1005Metric

D2      TX, LED_SMD:LED_0402_1005Metric

D3      RX, LED_SMD:LED_0402_1005Metric

R1      10k Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric

R2      10k, Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric

R3      10k, Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric

R4      10k, Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric

SW1   SW_SPDT, Button_Switch_SMD:SW_SPDT_PCM12

U1      ATmega8-16P MCU_Microchip_ATmega:ATmega8-16P           Package_DIP:DIP-28_W7.62mm

C2, C4 22pf, Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric

J1       POWER         Connector:Conn_01x02_Male Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x02_P2.54mm_Vertical

J2       DIGITAL I/O Connector:Conn_01x08_Male Connector_PinHeader_1.27mm:PinHeader_1x08_P1.27mm_Vertical

J3       BOOT LOADER       Connector:Conn_01x03_Male Connector_PinHeader_1.27mm:PinHeader_1x03_P1.27mm_Vertical

J4       ANALOG I/O Connector:Conn_01x06_Male Connector_PinHeader_1.27mm:PinHeader_1x06_P1.27mm_Vertical

J5       PROGRAMMER CON.        Connector:Conn_01x06_Female Connector_PinSocket_1.27mm:PinSocket_1x06_P1.27mm_Vertical_SMD_Pin1Right

R1, R2, R3, R4          10k, Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric

Y1      16MHz           Device:Crystal_GND24           Crystal:Crystal_SMD_0603-4Pin_6.0x3.5mm

Circuit system and how it works

The system is designed around ATmega328p Microchip and connected to an external 16MHz Crystal Oscillator. Two 22pF Capacitors are used to decouple the crystal oscillator. The microcontroller has both digital and analog input/ output ports where there are 16 that are usable. The system is added with indicator 3 LEDs, whereby there is a status LED; connected to pin 13, and the transmission indicator LEDs; connected to the RX and TX.

A bootloader connection port is provided, where the MOSI, MISO, and SCK leads of the Arduino Uno microcontroller can be used to burn the bootloader to the ATmega328 microchip. Burning the bootloader is easy and can be done externally using a programmer or an Arduino UNO board.

The system is provided with ports for loading programs written in Arduino IDE, to the board where there are connections such as DTR, RX, and TX. These ports can be used by an external programming device to load a program to the microchip.

The System has a BOOT0 switch that is used during the reset, and also it is pulled low during the boot-loading process of the microchip.

PCB Layout

The design of the PCB of this microcontroller was done by KiCAD IDE due to the high accuracy required whereby the arrangement of the components is according to the circuit in preparation for the production process.

The 3D render of the system is shown in the image below.

How do you Order the Manufacturing of Such Boards?

Most of the Tech experts wondered how they should order for manufacturing such printed circuit boards cheaply and in the expertise way. Don’t worry about your pocket size and quality satisfaction again because PCBway got you covered now. PCBway offers online orders for manufacturing services and here am going to introduce you to how to order board manufacturing through their site.

First, you need to go to the PCB Instant Quote page as shown below, fill in all the relevant parameters and specifications for your board and click calculate.

On hitting calculate, you will be provided with an approximate cost of your board including the shipping cost. Shipping cost varies from country to country depending on location. Below is a screenshot of the approximate cost including shipment to the USA.

Click save to cart which leads you to the next page where you are supposed to upload your Gerber files as shown below.

Upload your Gerber files nicely. Our team of experts will check them to ascertain that they are up to the expected standard then provide you with the final cost of production.

Make a payment of your order through various money services provided by PCBway then seat back and wait for the shipment of our final product to your home within then the next seven days.