Custom Shield Competition

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Competition Instructions

Ready to get started? Awesome! These instructions will guide you through the process of building a board in Flux and submitting your entry.

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Step 1: Create a Flux account & join the Slack

First, skip the private beta waitlist and

create your free Flux account⁠

Then, join the

Flux Community Slack⁠

and introduce yourself on the #02-intros channel.

The Slack community is a great place to get design reviews from professionals as you build your board. Just make sure your project’s permissions are set to “comment only” and share a link on the #05-share or #competition channels.

Step 2: Get inspired

Check out a

few examples⁠

of shields, hats, and feathers created in Flux. Keep in mind, all of these designs can be forked and remixed to create your entry.

Arduino Shield examples

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Arduino Nano(RP2040) BME280 Shield⁠

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Arduino NRF24L01 Shield⁠

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Arduino Nano RP2040 motor Shield⁠

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Raspberry Pi HATs examples

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WS2812 RPI HAT⁠

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Raspberry Pi Pico Sensor HAT⁠

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RP 2040 Stamp Sensor HAT⁠

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Raspberry Pi WS2812 uHAT⁠

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ESP32 examples

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ESP32 C3 WROOM Smart Scale⁠

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ESP32 Power board⁠

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Step 3: Fork a template to get started quickly

We’ve created some templates for popular development boards to help you get started. These templates include the development board and a blank PCB that you can build your custom circuit on. The blank board has the appropriate pins positioned so that it’s plug-and-play with the corresponding development board.

Of course, you can always modify the dimensions of the template board to your liking. To use a template, simply open the document and click the “fork” button in the Flux navigation bar at the top left.

Arduino Shield Templates

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Arduino Uno R3 Shield Template⁠

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Arduino Nano Shield Template⁠

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Arduino ATMEGA2560-16AU Template⁠

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Arduino Mega2560 Shield Template⁠

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Raspberry Pi HAT Templates

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Raspberry Pi Model B Hat Template⁠

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Raspberry Pi Pico HAT Template⁠

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RP2040 Stamp⁠

Adafruit Feather Templates

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Featherwing template for nRF52 Bluefruit⁠

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Step 4: Research & add parts

Once you decide what type of shield you’d like to build, you’ll need to research the parts that you want to use. You should be able to find everything you need in the Flux library. Be sure to use the filters in the part search to filter for parts that have footprints. You can also make the part search wider to see more details like part availability and manufacturer part number.

On the off chance you can’t find the part you need, don’t worry! Here are a few ways to get the parts you need into Flux:

Import a part - Flux can import parts directly from KiCAD

here’s a quick tutorial⁠

Create a part - If you need to create your part from scratch, here’s a

short tutorial⁠

Part request - You can get some help from the

Slack Community⁠

, just visit the #request-a-part channel and ask for help.

TIP: Use “generic parts” to maintain flexibility as you design your circuit. As you add properties like physical values, manufacture code, or package code updates will happen in real-time to your project. Just look for “generic” in the part name and drag them onto your project!
Learn more⁠
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Step 5: Draw your schematic

The next step is to drag the components you want from the part browser into the schematic canvas and wire them together! Make sure to double-check your host Arduino, Raspberry Pi or Feather datasheets to ensure you’re making the right connections.

Here’s⁠

a brief description of the process if you’re new to Flux.

TIP: Special parts exist to help you with your schematic wiring process! Try using Net Portal to connect two nets at a distance.

Step 6: Route your board

Routing in Flux is as easy as clicking the glowing touchpoint on any connected pad. Let the airwires guide your work and use the W key to cycle through trace width options! Ground fills are also enabled by default with automatic stitching vias. You can find more info on ground fills in Flux

here⁠

! And if you want some ideas for leveling up your routing game, check out

this video!⁠

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TIP: If you encounter unexpected behavior during the design process in Flux, please
file a bug⁠
so we can help!

Step 7: Get ready for manufacturing

After you’re done routing your board there are still a few steps to complete! You’ll want to make sure your design is manufacturable by doing a quick gerber check, and then you’ll do a full file export for your manufacturer of choice. For this competition, you won’t necessarily need to manufacture your boards, but manufacturability is one of the categories that will contribute to your overall score.

Here⁠

are some tips on prepping your board for manufacturing

Step 8: Make your project public

Once you’ve confirmed your design is manufacturable, all that’s left to do is make it public so everyone can see it! See

this video⁠

for a description of all the sharing options. We recommend selecting “Anyone can view”.

Step 9: Submit your Shield!

👏 You did it! Now, fill out this

typeform⁠

and share a link to your project. We’ll be announcing the winners by January 7th.

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Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.