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Hellen One is a DIY PnP ECU board construction toolset.
Do you have a car with a rare or non-standard ECU connector pinout?
Do you want a custom DIY ECU but don't want to design it from scratch?
Hellen One Platform is a new take on a modular approach to rusEFI ECU - both universal and plug-and-play. A number of functional building modules is developed with the intention of easily combining those depending on the specific PCB use case, by simply interconnecting them by merging a number of reusable modules on a single PCB.
The idea behind Hellen One is that anyone can do a "frame" board with just module footprints in ANY software, and then use an automated script to merge the frame with the modules together and get a ready-to-fab board!
Hellen One frame is a 'skeleton' PCB project, which treats the modules as 'empty' footprints with pads and connects them all together.
One would use For example KiCad to design frame PCB and generate gerbers, BOM and PDF. Those gerbers+PDF would be consumed by Hellen One merge script to produce overall gerbers, BOM and PDF.
Think of the modules as "non integrated circuits", similar to how ASIC is a footprint.
There is no need to know what is in the module, just need to know what the inputs/outputs are.
Hellen One module is never intended to be separate PCBs, they are like building blocks inside a 'frame' board. Modules are published as footprints (used in a frame) with gerbers (contains the 'insides' of a module).
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The ready-to-fab board files are created automatically by Hellen One scripts, using the frame and module files, by merging them in one PCB.
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An open-source 121-pin sample board, partially compatible with VAG ME7.x connectors.
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An ultracompact and cheap yet full-functional 8-Cylinder ECU board compatible with M7.9.7/ME7.9.7/ME7.8.8/Yanvar7.2/Micas10.3.
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A number of commercial PnP projects based on Hellen One Platform:
- Hellen72, a PnP rusEFI ECU for Mazda Miata NB2
- Hellen128mercedes
- Hellen55bmw
- Hellen64_miata99
- Hellen88bmw
- Hellen134bmw
- MCU module, the "brain" of ECU, which controls other modules (74 I/Os, USB, SWD, 2xSPI, I2C, CAN, UART);
- input module, takes care of all analog and digital signals from sensors (24 inputs total);
- output module, has power drivers for injectors, actuators, relays and other peripherals, 28 outputs total;
- power12 module, handles battery and ignition switch voltages;
- power5 module, is a power source for low-voltage ECU circuitry;
- ign8 module, has 8 low-voltage drivers for logic-level ignition Coil-On-Plugs or igniters;
- knock module, knock sensor signal pre-processor;
- can module, a CAN interface transceiver;
- lin module, a LIN (K-Line) interface transceiver;
- sd module, a micro-SD card adapter for rusEFI datalogger;
- stlink module, a ST-Link/V2mini connector for debugging;
- vr MAX9926 Variable Reluctance signal conditioner;
First thing first, please check if a similar Hellen One board already exists. Maybe you can adapt the existing design for your needs. Most of the boards are extremely flexible with lots of extended features.
If you want to create a Hellen One board from scratch, here's a rough plan:
- create a pinout spreadsheet for your ECU connector, with detailed pin descriptions; for example https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H0cZPAJFbpprgSu1Y8BiAYzXbqddvIn-Hhod4QCVQwk/edit
- create an accurate drawing of a board that fits inside your ECU case;
- use your favorite EDA software (Kicad, Altium CircuitMaker/Designer) and create a new project for your ECU frame;
- add modules from Hellen One library to your schematics;
- create a component and footprint of your ECU connector and add it to your project;
- connect all the modules and connector using the pinout spreadsheet;
- add some LEDs, USB connectors, labels etc., and finish the pcb design of your frame;
- export your frame into a separate folder: gerbers, schematics, BOM, CPL;
- run Hellen One script to merge your frame with the modules and get a ready-to-fab board files!