I’m working on a usb-c hub with dockable modules in the expansion card format. We are also building some useful tool cards like a multimeter, power supply, esp32-s3 dev board (Xiao), Mini SSD (2TB), etc.
I would love to get your feedback, this is our website https://dockframe.com/
Cool idea. Can it use normal framework expansion cards? Personally, I would want a dock that can take at least 8.
Heads up for others, this domain was blocked by my new domain register list, it was only registered less than 2 weeks ago.
Thanks! Yes, we are making the hub compatible with native Framework cards. Also our custom cards: multimeter, power supply, etc are being designed to work on the actual laptops too. Compatibility is key.
About supporting 8 cards, we designed the enclosure to be “lego attachable“ to each other so you can stack them or add lego artifacts on top (small toys, decoration, small electronics kits, etc), see this prototype:
Very cool idea!
Update: We are now working on the PCB design of the main board + different cards.
Remember to share your feedback at https://dockframe.com
First prototype photos:
Looks great! Questions:
Any chance to get 24VDC added to that power supply card, or just a version with fixed 24VDC? All our industrial hardware (Allen Bradley PLCs) operate on that voltage.
What kind of isolation do the multimeter and power supply cards have? Is there any risk of frying the dock or laptop if something like 120VAC gets plugged in?
Coverage of this product hit Notebookcheck…
At the moment we are working in a design for up to 100W shared usb hub. It’s very expensive and risky for us to go for 240W passthrough in terms of time for researching and prototyping + we still need to see how big the market is to see if is economically viable. That’s why we will start with a less complex version.
We will sell the dual usb-c cards, multimeter and power supply cards.
Once we finish the crowdfunding campaign we will release the entire schematics, kikad files, freecad files for enclosure, firmware, etc. Everything will be open source, 100% like we did with webscreen.cc
Wow we also got coverage on The DockFrame is a USB-C hub compatible with Framework's modular, hot swappable kit so you always have just what you need | PC Gamer
And we currently have 314 people in the pre-order list with super useful feedback, feature requests, etc.
it is possible to add 24 VDC to the power supply card. We are aiming to reach up to 26 VDC if possible. For the moment, we want to offer 2 A of continuous current at 24 VDC
Multimeter card use isoleted power chip (B0505S-1WR2) and data isolater (Si8621) so mesurement side is totaly separete from laptop - no electricity can pass through
if 120v go in, fuse blow and TVS diode clamp it, noting bad reach the dock side
Update: Engineering 5 Gbps on a 4-Layer Board: DockFrame's USB 3.0 Backbone | HW Lab
We are working in the dual usb-c extension card because we want to validate certain design decisions for the hub. We already started working in the design for the hub but we will first we want to create some proototypes for the dual extension card and see if everything works well and take any learning and improvement to the main board.
Great write up. I’m curious about the software that is needed to run the multimeter and power supply cards. Is that open source and already existing? Mainly, will it run on Linux?
Forgive me if I missed that somewhere.
This is super interesting. I learned of this just recently from a blog. Always cool for Framework to point out and prop up creators.
Anyway, I have some questions. I don’t follow the tech space and I’m not techy, so I don’t understand the terms being used in this thread. What is the difference between a dock and a hub? What is it supposed to be used for?
All I know is that a docking station acts like a centralized plugging station for peripherals like screens and keyboards that gets forwarded to a laptop, but isn’t that also what a hub is? Is the DockFrame a docking station or a hub? The website and articles call it a hub, but it’s also “dockable”?
I like the idea, however I’d love for there to be a second version with 8 expansion cards. Looking at my current dell wd15, I’m using 3 usb-a ( keyboard, mouse, webcam) 1 hdmi, 2 audio jacks (one permanently used for desktop speakers, one which I plug my headphones into sometimes) and two usb-c for connecting my phone and/or external SSD.
