HardLabs

Blast

tbreckle·blast·pcb/blast/blast.kicad_pcb

Blast PCB layout, top view — open source RP2040/RP2350 board by tbreckle

About the Blast PCB

Blast is an open source RP2040/RP2350 PCB design by tbreckle, published on GitHub under the MIT license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 128.5 × 99.6 mm, with 29 components from 26 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the RaspberryPi_Pico, from the RP2040/RP2350 family. Other key parts include the MCP23017_SP. By type, the board carries 20 connectors, 6 resistors, 1 IC, 1 module and 1 capacitor.

It belongs with the keyboards, displays & leds and retro computing designs in this gallery.

From the project

Open-source arcade button box for lightgun and cabinet setups: 16 buttons, 11 game-driven LEDs and an OLED menu on a Raspberry Pi Pico. It shows up as a plain USB keyboard, holds a key profile per game, and comes with a Rust desktop app for configuration and a KiCad PCB.

An open-source arcade control panel: 16 buttons, 11 dimmable LEDs, an OLED menu, and a desktop app to configure all of it.

Download · Features · Quick start · BLAST protocol · Building · Contributing

B.L.A.S.T. is the button box that sits next to your lightgun or arcade cabinet. It presents itself to the PC as a plain USB keyboard, so every game and emulator understands it without drivers. Each game gets its own profile of key bindings, which you pick on the built-in OLED or let your frontend switch automatically. The button LEDs can be driven live by the game (blink the coin button…

Blast, from the project README
From the project README

Main components on the Blast

MCP23017_SPRaspberryPi_Pico

Blast bill of materials (BOM)

29 components, 26 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
MCP23017_SP
U1
1
RaspberryPi_Pico
A2
1
STARTP1
StartP1
J1
1
STARTP2
StartP2
J2
1
COINP1
CoinP1
J3
1
COINP2
CoinP2
J4
1
ACTIONP1_1
ActionP1_1
J5
1
ACTIONP1_2
ActionP1_2
J6
1
ACTIONP2_1
ActionP2_1
J7
1
ACTIONP2_2
ActionP2_2
J8
1
Pause
J9
1
DEBUG
J10
1
OLED
J11
1
Save
J12
1
RGB LED
J13
1
Load
J14
1
RGB2
J16
1
Joystick
J17
1
RGB3
J18
1
RGB4
J19
Show 6 more
QtyPartRefs
1
RGB_CON
J20
1
RGB1
J21
1
100NF
100nF
C1
1
10K
10k
R1
3
150
R2, R3, R4
2
4.7K
4.7k
R5, R6

Blast design files

The KiCad project lives in the tbreckle/blast repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Blast: common questions

What microcontroller does the Blast use?

The Blast is built around the RaspberryPi_Pico, from the RP2040/RP2350 family.

How big is the Blast PCB?

The Blast measures 128.5 × 99.6 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Blast?

29 components, from 26 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Blast design files?

From the tbreckle/blast repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Blast design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its MIT license, which tbreckle chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the Blast without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug RP2040/RP2350 firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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