Does anyone know of any Kicad projects to make CM4 modules?
I’m aware of ArvSOM which could be used as a template.
I was hoping to find something like the Radxa CM5 with 3588S as it seems to have good Ubuntu support
CM4 is CM4. It’s not open hardware.
Are you looking for something with similar functionality / CPU power to CM4, but open SoM type? Or open carrier board projects for CM4? Not really clear from your question.
Nothing from a top of my head, but I guess there may be some open hardware SoMs available based on NXP or Rockchip perhaps.
If you are looking for open carrier board projects - there is plenty around. Even RPi published something as a KiCAD project.
BTW. Radxa CM5 downloads are a bit outdated. Not sure if this project is still active. Linux kernel 3.0, Android Kitkat, Debian 8 or Ubuntu 14.04?!? That is veeery old!
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It took me some time to realize that CM4 was some raspberry compute module thing.
Apparently they do not have a KiCad project for the module itself available, but they do have a KiCad project for the I/O board, and on that I/O board is a footprint for the CM4 module. (That project also appears to have the CM4 module footprint in a KiCad library).
https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/compute-module-4-io-board/
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Yes, this is what I meant in my post above.
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I did not let your text sink in deep enough behind my eyeballs, and I apolozige for that. A footprint with PCB outline, connector layout and such is indeed quite easy to find.
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Sorry post was a little unclear. I’m interested in a CM4-style module, with compatible connectors.
I found the Radxa CM5 after starting the post, which seems to be almost exactly what I’m after, but ideally an OSHW/ Kicad version.
The Radxa modules seem to be quite open, with impressive (33 page) schematics and parts layout,(but only .pdf) but I have not seen a complete KiCad project. As also posted in the link above, Olimex has several of their boards as completely open hardware KiCad projects, but those have different connectors.
I’m not sure what you want exactly or how far you want to go. There are companies that completely delaminate a PCB and create gerber files from all layers for a few hundred EUR or USD.
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I’m designing a little open hardware robot. It’s not really driven by any economic or practical considerations, it’s just a little hobby project for me. I’d like it to run ROS 2 which is most easy to run on Ubuntu 22.04, with some relatively fast SBC.
Olimex does great stuff, but all their SBCs are a little old/slow at this point.
I don’t want to steal Radxa’s IP. If they’ve chosen to make closed hardware then that’s their right. I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed an existing open hardware project. I guess in the short term I’ll put a CM5 in an open hardware carrier board and work with that.
I appreciate it’s a significant bit of work to design something as complex as a CM4 board. There are a few CM4-compatible variants but it seems no open hardware ones apart from the Arvsom in my first post or the upcoming FPGA one.
Best solution would be to go custom, as any SoM will have lots of stuff you don’t need for making a robot (video output, usb 3.0, etc). However if you go for ROB2 you need something which (as you mentioned at the very beginning) has a good Ubuntu support. I don’t know ROB, but you would probably get away with Ubuntu “server” edition (without a desktop environment) which would make it all much less CPU power greedy.
This is not an easy and cheap route though…
Sounds like a fun project. Good luck with it!
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Part of my interest is contributing useful open hardware ‘modules’ that can serve a number of purposes, so a CM4 module seems reasonable. I lack the skills to do it personally.
USB3 would probably be useful for the robot, you’re correct that it can run headless.
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