After facing some challenges, we finally have the first prototype in our hands, so now we get to the stage of testing the real thing and work on improving designs. But It’s been quite a journey to this point, that we want to share with you:
After finalizing the schematics and preparing everything for manufacturing, the first delay came with the Chinese New Year: production lines shut down, and thereafter we had to wait several weeks for operations to resume. When we finally received the assembled board, we found that several critical components weren’t soldered properly… so the outcome from this first attempt took us to reconsider the entire process, and preferably look for a nearby alternative.
That’s when we found a local company willing to take on the challenge. Not only did they agree to manufacture our PCB, but also provided valuable technical support to help us adapt the design to their production capabilities, a collaboration that significantly reduced the likelihood of errors.
The result was so positive that chances are that they manufacture and assemble the Liberux NEXX boards from now on.
Till we received the first assembled unit of our mainboard, we’ve been working to bring it to life.
Our electronics team have been focused on debugging the board and getting it correctly recognized by a computer. After checking the assembly, validating critical components, and fixing a few minor issues (such as misoriented components or soldermask-covered pads) we reached our first milestone: the processor is now communicating with the PC.
As part of these adjustments, a small rework was needed on the charging circuit due to a design oversight involving the BTST pin of the corresponding IC. This has now been fixed directly on the board and documented for the next revision.
This is a key moment for the project: for the first time, we have real hardware, not just schematics and simulations. Also we’ve reach a point when the real challenges will show up, technical and logistical alike.
First tests, first signs
Our first step was to check the overall condition of the assembly, verify power supply lines, and validate critical components. While we found a few minor issues (nothing unusual for a first version) the good news is that the board is already communicating with the PC, and the RK processor is being correctly detected.
From here on, the goal is clear: to get a functional boot image that lets us begin testing the system’s various peripherals.
One step further: generating ARM images
In parallel, we’ve prepared a tool that automates the generation of ARM images for different boards based on the RK3588 and RK3588S CPUs. This helps us iterate faster and makes it easier for others to contribute or test with similar hardware.
So… what’s next?
Next up is validating peripherals like RAM, flash memory, the cameras, and the display.
If you want to be the first to know about our progress, join our crowdfunding.
You can also follow us on Mastodon, where we share weekly updates about the project.
Thanks for being there, we’re really excited to share this moment with you.
Written by:
Carlos Rodríguez San Miguel — BUF0
