Articles · Learning path · Beginner

Your first maker project

From your first LED to reading a sensor to printing a case for the board: circuits, code and 3D printing in one path.

3 lessons · about 15 min in total

  1. 1 Wire an LED to an ESP32 the right way: sizing the resistor with Ohm's lawWhy an LED always needs a resistor, the step-by-step sum for an ESP32 (3.3 V) and an Arduino Uno (5 V), which GPIO pins are safe, and blink and button code. 5 min read
  2. 2 Read temperature, humidity and pressure from a BME280 over I2C with an ESP32Wire the two I2C lines, find the address with an I2C scanner, read values with the Adafruit library, tell a BME280 from a look-alike BMP280, and why it reads too warm. 5 min read
  3. 3 Design a 3D-printed case that fits your board the first timeMeasure the board, choose clearance and wall thickness, work out the case size step by step, plan screw holes, USB cut-outs and vents, and pick PLA, PETG or ABS. 5 min read