HardLabs

Vara

VirajSanghani·vara·electronics/vara_core.kicad_sch

Vara

About the Vara PCB

Vara is an open source PCB design by VirajSanghani, published on GitHub under the Custom license license. It is a board, with 21 components from 18 distinct parts.

Other key parts include the IP5306, MAX98357A, TPS22918, AP2112K-3.3 and RPi Zero 2 W. By type, the board carries 7 resistors, 4 ICs, 3 connectors, 1 module, 1 battery holder and 1 speaker.

It belongs with the test & measurement and sensors designs in this gallery.

From the project

A handheld modular perception instrument: slide on a cartridge and it gains a new sense. A printable enclosure + an optimized dovetail connector with a frozen 6-pin contract (so any I²C sensor becomes a cartridge) + a Raspberry Pi vision prototype. One honest, end-to-end engineering pass — validated-by-design, not hardware-tested.

Interactive showcase (explode the device, watch the connector evolve, see the point-and-identify loop): run web/ locally — see Run the showcase. Pronounced VAH-rah, from Sanskrit वर — "boon, the chosen thing."

The whole assembly, every part flying from exploded to seated and back — on a loop. This is rendered straight from the CAD: a single animated glTF (enclosure, the optimized dovetail connector, M2.5 screws, and the representative internals) played in ``.

Main components on the Vara

IP5306MAX98357ATPS22918AP2112K-3.3RPi Zero 2 W

Vara bill of materials (BOM)

21 components, 18 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
IP5306
U2
1
MAX98357A
U4
1
TPS22918
U5
1
AP2112K-3.3
U6
1
RPi Zero 2 W
A1
1
USB-C recept
J1
1
Pogo 6p (CORE)
J2
1
CSI FFC 15p
J3
1
Li-po 3.7V 1500mAh
BT1
1
RPi Camera v2
CAM1
1
ST7789 1.69in 240x280
DS1
1
Speaker 8R 1W
LS1
1
SPH0645LM4H
MK1
1
EC11
SW1
2
4.7k
R1, R2
2
10k
R3, R4
1
100k
R5
2
5.1k
R7, R8

Vara design files

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

Vara: common questions

How many components are on the Vara?

21 components, from 18 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 Vara design files?

From the VirajSanghani/vara repository on GitHub, which has the schematic, a netlist and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Vara design in my own project?

It is published under Custom license, which limits how it may be reused; read the license before building on it.

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