Minima, a SAM D21 Module

While Arduino boards and the like are fine – excellent even – for starting out, at some point you’ll likely want to move into using actual microcontrollers on their own with your PCB. This represents a huge jump in design freedom, but also means a rather high barrier to entry. After all, you now have to figure out a more complicated programming process, along with various pesky supporting devices, such as an oscillator, voltage regulator, and status LEDs, which aren't included by default.

To solve this issue, the tiny Minima PCB includes everything you need to get started, and solders onto your custom carrier board. This allows you to concentrate on what you’d like to do with your new custom circuit, rather than reinventing the supporting components “wheel” once again.

At the heart of the Minima is a SAM D21 microcontroller, with 18 GPIO – five of which are analog capable – broken out. There’s a voltage regulator onboard, crystal oscillator, LEDs, reverse voltage diode, and a reset button. It also has a pre-loaded bootloader for Arduino IDE usage, and measures in at 19.8x16.6mm, making it easy to fit onto your device.

The Minima is currently on Kickstarter at a pledge level starting at £16 (~$22 USD), or you can get a 25X multipack for £280/$385. Delivery is slated for July/August 2021, and an Eagle footprint library will be available for integrating it into your own design. Although this likely wouldn’t save you money versus designing and placing everything yourself, for experiments, or even low-volume production, it could be just the thing to speed up development!