A few months ago I bought an Arduino Nano ESP32 dev board and, despite limited hardware background, quickly got the built‑in LEDs blinking using the Arduino IDE and LLM assistance. After moving firmware flashing to the command line, I added an LCD and a BME280 temperature/humidity breakout, wiring both via I²C. Wanting to move beyond breadboards, I decided to design a custom PCB for the BME280 module.

I chose KiCad, a free GPL‑licensed tool that runs on macOS, and transferred the sensor’s I²C schematic from the datasheet into the program. Selecting footprints, I used 0805 SMD parts for hand soldering and laid out the board on a single front layer, adding ground fills and vias. Components were sourced mainly from Digi‑Key, though the BME280 was out of stock, so I salvaged it from the Amazon board.

After generating a BOM and exporting Gerber files, I ordered the board from JLCPCB for under $10, with a 2‑3 week turnaround. Assembly was done with a Hakko FX888DX soldering iron at 650 °F, giving me a hands‑on feel for the full design‑to‑production workflow.