Backplane
About the Backplane PCB
Backplane is an open source PCB design by MichaelBell, published on GitHub under the BSD-3-Clause license. It is a 4-layer board measuring 90 × 100 mm, with 33 components from 11 distinct parts.
Other key parts include the AP2112K-3.3. By type, the board carries 13 capacitors, 6 connectors, 6 diodes, 6 resistors, 1 IC and 1 switch.
From the project
RV4028 - A hackable Risc-V computer
RV4028 is intended to be a modular Risc-V computer, similar to the excellent RC2014 Z80 homebrew computer.
The idea is to create a minimal Risc-V system that is easy to understand and extend.
The inspiration for this came from @theJPster's post.
All hardware and software are open source and permissively licensed.
The system bus has a 32-bit address and 16-bit data, which fits reasonably well with an RV32 system and readily available (P)SRAM chips, and runs at 3.3V.
Main components on the Backplane
Backplane bill of materials (BOM)
33 components, 11 distinct parts.
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AP2112K-3.3 | SOT-23-5 | U2 |
| 5 | ~ | Backplane_Header_2mm | J1, J2, J3, J4, J5 |
| 1 | USB4500-03-0-A USB-C | TYPE-C-SMD_MC-107DJ | J6 |
| 1 | RESET | SW-SMD_HX-TS-1101-C-W | SW1 |
| 5 | WS2812B | LED_WS2812B_PLCC4_5.0x5.0mm_P3.2mm | D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 |
| 1 | KT-0603R | LED_0603_1608Metric | D6 |
| 12 | 10uF | C_0603_1608Metric | C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8 +4 |
| 1 | 1uF | C_0402_1005Metric | C13 |
| 2 | 5.1k | R_0402_1005Metric | R1, R2 |
| 2 | 1k | R_0402_1005Metric | R3, R6 |
| 2 | 47k | R_0402_1005Metric | R4, R5 |
Backplane design files
The KiCad project lives in the MichaelBell/RV4028 repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.
- Layoutbackplane/backplane.kicad_pcb
- Schematicbackplane/backplane.kicad_sch
Backplane: common questions
How big is the Backplane PCB?
The Backplane measures 90 × 100 mm, has 4 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.
How many components are on the Backplane?
33 components, from 11 distinct parts. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.
Where can I download the Backplane design files?
From the MichaelBell/RV4028 repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout and the schematic; the links under Design files point to each one.
Can I use the Backplane design in my own project?
Yes, under the terms of its BSD-3-Clause license, which MichaelBell chose for the repository.
