Justin Kim

Open Sourcing Hardware

Building HeyPCB
@fdotinc
@1517fund

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

Open-source hardware finally has a homepage.

7,600+ designs you can actually browse.

1) Browse by hardware: robotics, RF, power, IoT, keyboards...
2) Browse by platform: ESP32, Arduino, STM32, Raspberry Pi, RP2040, FPGA...
3) Open any project directly in our browser EDA + MCAD

But finding the design is only the start.

AI lives right next to the editor and understands the project you have open.

Ask how the circuit works. Ask why a component is there. Explore the PCB + mechanical design. Then fork it, change it, and make it yours.

https://t.co/Jy4IDQhZ4L

p.s. we're not trying to make another place to store hardware files. we're trying to make hardware searchable, understandable, and editable.

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@_RyanHwang that would honestly make it much easier for companies to actually build on open hardware while making sure the original creators benefit too.. we'll definitely look into that, thanks Ryan!

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

Open-source hardware finally has a homepage.

7,600+ designs you can actually browse.

1) Browse by hardware: robotics, RF, power, IoT, keyboards...
2) Browse by platform: ESP32, Arduino, STM32, Raspberry Pi, RP2040, FPGA...
3) Open any project directly in our browser EDA + MCAD

But finding the design is only the start.

AI lives right next to the editor and understands the project you have open.

Ask how the circuit works. Ask why a component is there. Explore the PCB + mechanical design. Then fork it, change it, and make it yours.

https://t.co/Jy4IDQhZ4L

p.s. we're not trying to make another place to store hardware files. we're trying to make hardware searchable, understandable, and editable.

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@_RyanHwang Oh yea definitely, I actually really like this idea. Instead of Circuit World just displaying whatever license came with the project, we could eventually build the licensing layer itself (define commercial terms and handle licensing/transactions directly through the platform)

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

also more focusing on the Circuit world side, the hardware licensing is honestly really complicating because of (PCB/firmware/reference designs, individual components.. way more) + they can all have different rights attached to them.
so definitely something we need to think more about it..
would love your feedback on how we could approach this, tysm

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@_RyanHwang also CERN-OHL does allow commercial use? right? The S/W/P variants mainly differ in what modifications you’re required to keep open

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@_RyanHwang okay now number 2 the hardware + software point. I honestly don’t think the software license alone is enough.

Firmware and the hardware design are separate layers and usually need separate licensing.

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

hmmm, I mean, I agree the boundary gets blurry, especially with reference designs.

But I think there’s an important distinction between: if you follow a chip manufacturer’s recommended/reference circuit, the question isn’t necessarily whether you are infringing

+ it’s also how much of that design is actually yours to license as open hardware.

[Andreas Brakkerud @andersbrakkerud]

Cool

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@andersbrakkerud appreciate the repost!! glad you think so :)

feel free to DM me or leave a comment with any feedback, always looking for ways to make HeyPCB better!

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@purnasatyap Excited to see where you take it. Keep us posted as you build, happy to help along the way!!

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

Thousands of great open-source hardware projects are being wasted.

Not because the designs are bad, but because actually building on someone else’s hardware is still way too hard.

You open a project and suddenly you need to understand:
1) The schematic + PCB
2) The mechanical design / CAD
3) Datasheets for every component
4) Why the original engineer made each decision

That’s why we built Circuit World, with 7,500+ open-source hardware designs (drones, robots, laptops, and WAY more).
Open any of them in your browser, explore the EDA + CAD with AI, fork it, and make it yours.

https://t.co/Jy4IDQhZ4L

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@aimagicomj Thank you!! Would love for you to try it out and let me know what you think 🙌

[Magic @aimagicomj]

這個好👍

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@the_maxson hahaha bookmarking for the next build(needed to use the google translator)😭 let me know what you end up making!

[tirtil @the_maxson]

Kendime not.

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@imoutoftokensFR hmm that is a really good idea, almost like a “what you’ll need” section before you even open the project: tools, parts, soldering, difficulty, etc.

will ship that this week definitely, and will let you know

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@infsqrwell also posted about the new update on X, check it out :)

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@infsqrwell It is live now check https://t.co/TApYaepP4K

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@deivid_tech This is exactly who we built it for 😭 find something interesting, fork it, and build your own version. Would love to see what you make!!

[Glitch 81 ᯅ @deivid_tech]

Do you like building your own gadgets? 🤩🙌🏻

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@Gilga7u7 ummm ig fair but open-source refers to the designs + licenses, not whether HeyPCB requires an account. But I get the point. what do you think I should do?

[Justin Kim @justinplaygame]

@rickyraz_ @dr_sensor hello, replied to your original thread!