TFT32 – IoT gateway/control hub with TFT – Martin's corner on the web

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The TFT32 project is an ESP32 powered multi-purpose IoT gateway/control hub with TFT, touch and various other helper peripherals.

: Powered board

: Front of PCB

: Back of PCB

: Top view

Features

Powered by the popular ESP32 SoC
ILI9341 based 2.4″ TFT with resistive touch, PWM dimming control
Light sensor (LDR)
433Mhz RFM69HW ISM radio
One WS2812B RGB LED (Neopixel)
Piezo buzzer for audible feedback
HTU21D/SHT21 temperature/humidity sensor
DS1338 real-time clock with battery backup (CR1220 battery not included)
Four multi-purpose buttons
Option for ATSHA204 crypto authentication device (not included)

Logical peripherals diagram

Schematic

Powering it

The TFT32 can be powered from the micro USB port or the FTDI programming socket (P1). Alternatively, the board can be powered from 12-6V source using the auxiliary power connector (P4).

Programming it

The micro-USB port is only used to provide power, not for programming the TFT32. The TFT32 is programmed using FTDI programming socked located on the back of the product. To program the TFT, please use 3.3V logic level FTDI programmer that can supply at least 500mA current.

: FTDI connector

: Arduino settings

Note: In order to flash the TFT32 with new firmware, you need to press and hold button 1 (marked with S1 on the silk, connected to GPIO 0) for a short time as the firmware upload starts

Code examples

Github repository with examples: here

I highly recommend using LittlevGL for GUI development on the TFT32.

LittlevGL is a free and open-source graphics library providing everything you need to create embedded GUI with easy-to-use graphical elements, beautiful visual effects, and low memory footprint.

Example Arduino source code for touchscreen Christmas lights controller with MQTT backend is available to get you started with LittlevGL and the TFT32 on my Github repo.

Christmas lights controller

3D printable enclosure

A 3D printable enclosure is available for free here.

: 3D enclosure

: 3D enclosure front

: 3D enclosure back

Note: The enclosure requires four 2.5x7mm screws.

Buy TFT32

You can purchase the TFT32 project from my store:

TFT32 – ESP32 powered IoT control hub with TFT
€39.00 – €44.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
3D printable enclosure for TFT32
€0.00 Add to cart

4 thoughts on “TFT32 – IoT gateway/control hub with TFT”

richard June 14, 2019 at 6:21 pm

Hi Martin
I had quite a time getting the christmas light controller to work i kept having exception errors and restarts, it was because i was using the latest lvgl library, i used a fork https://github.com/abiandy/lvgl v5.1.1 and it worked 🙂
Thanks for a great product
1. Martin Post authorJune 14, 2019 at 6:30 pm
  
  Thanks for sharing! Hope this helps if someone else has the same problem.
  Cheers
Darrin Bolden February 10, 2020 at 12:24 pm

Hello Martin,
Have you tried the Nextion HMI with LvGL on ESP32? I have’nt found many examples to point me in the right direction so wondered if there is a compatabillity issue. In theory they should work together. Please let me know what you think
Sincerely
DL Bolden
1. Martin Post authorFebruary 11, 2020 at 7:14 pm
  
  Hello,
  No, I haven’t – those Nextons look pretty cool but are way too expensive to consider in any sort of commercial product. SO I quickly abandoned the idea to use them.
  I suggest checking with their support forum or Reddit, there might be someone who managed to get them to work, or at least comment if it is possible.
  Cheers