What is it?

SwitchBlox is a small ethernet switch with five ports designed for size constrained and tough environments.

With an overall size of 44.5mm (1.75 inches) by 44.5mm (1.75 inches), SwitchBlox is the smallest 5 port network switch in the world making it perfect for robots, drones or any space limited network application.

The board comes fully assembled and requires no setup or coding. Simply apply a 5-51V DC supply, connect your devices using the included cable set and it will automatically begin forwarding packets.

Beta features

The switch IC used onboard is the RTL8305 and we've added a footprint to allow an ATtiny to be soldered. This ATting connects to the RTL8305 over SMI (similar to I2C) and allows the board to be programmed with firmware for managed switch applications. This feature is in beta; if you're interested in helping with development, get in touch at botblox2020@gmail.com

We've added circuitry to inject the board's input voltage on any combination of the ethernet ports by setting a DIP switch on the back. When the input voltage used is 44-48V, this is compliant with the PoE IEEE8 802.3af specification which allows power and data to be transmitted on the same wires. Due to the wide variety of standards around PoE, this feature is in beta and may require testing with your specific application.

All cables included, these are: 4 x 1.25mm Molex 5 way to RJ45, 300mm cables (for port connections). 2 x 1.25 Molex 5 way to tinned wires, 300mm cables (for power input and output)

Why did you make it?

There's currently no option for robot and drone builders looking for a small and robust ethernet switch. SwitchBlox means you can incorporate ethernet into space, weight and power constrained applications easily.

What makes it special?

It's unique on the market. It's tiny and works straight out the box to create robust industrial and robotics networks. The beta features also allow for some very exciting future development, but SwitchBlox can be used as is.