Parts and Tools List

Parts and Tools List

This page is the shopping list for a pair of BlueBuzzah v3 gloves — one left, one right. Quantities below are per pair unless noted otherwise; where a Part page says "per glove," this page has already doubled it.

If you're starting a build, read this page before ordering anything, and read Part 1 Ordering the PCB alongside it — the PCB order and this list are the two things you need to have in hand before assembly starts.

Already on the assembled board — do not order these separately

The PCB from Part 1 Ordering the PCB arrives fully assembled from JLCPCB. The following are already populated on it, per glove board, per the v3 BOM:

• 1× Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 (MCU + BLE)
• 5× DRV2605L haptic drivers (one per finger channel)
• 1× TCA9548A I2C multiplexer
• 1× WS2812B RGB status LED
• 1× SPDT slide switch
• 1× LSM6DS3 IMU
• 6× 2-pin JST-PH sockets (5 motor ports + 1 battery port)

Do not buy any of the above. The list below is everything the board does not include.

Components — per pair (2 gloves)

Item	Qty per pair	Notes
Assembled v3 PCB (JLCPCB)	2	See Part 1 Ordering the PCB for ordering. One board per glove.
Internal 2.4/5 GHz dual-band antenna, IPEX/U.FL connector	2	Required, not optional — one per board. The XIAO's BLE radio carries both the app connection and glove-to-glove bilateral sync; without an antenna connected, neither works. Sold in 5-packs, so one pack covers a pair with spares. Amazon listing, model U4-WIFI-R-A0-HB — use the model number to find an equivalent if that listing is unavailable. Fitted in Part 2 Flashing and Smoke Testing the Bare Board.
VLV101040A LRA	10	5 per glove — index, middle, ring, pinky, thumb. See Part 3 Building the Tactors.
Compression springs	~30, buy extra	3 springs per housing × 10 housings. These are small and easy to lose during Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly — buy a spare handful.
3D-printed housing sets	10 sets (7 pieces each)	Per housing: LRA sled, wire plug, shell, lid, pin, finger cup, finger support. See Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly for print settings (rigid PLA/PETG for the sled/shell/lid/pin, TPU 95A or flexible PLA for the finger cup, 0.4mm nozzle, 0.12mm layer height).
LiPo battery — PKCELL LP552035, 350 mAh, 3.7V	2	One per glove. Confirm the battery's connector is a 2-pin JST-PH, 2.00mm pitch — the same footprint as the board's motor and battery sockets.
Stretchy, nitrile-dipped gloves	2 (1 left, 1 right)	See Part 5 Mounting Tactors in Glove Fingertips for sizing guidance.
Thin, flexible stranded wire	~20 six-inch lengths (or one small spool)	2 leads per LRA × 10 LRAs, per Part 3 Building the Tactors. Two wire colors make polarity easier to track.
2-pin JST-PH connectors (mating side), pre-crimped or bare + pins	10	5 per glove, for the tactor leads — see Part 3 Building the Tactors. These mate with the motor ports already on the board; you're buying the plug side, not the socket.
USB-C cable	1–2	For flashing (Part 2 Flashing and Smoke Testing the Bare Board) and charging. One is enough if used sequentially across both boards.
Small zip ties	A few	Optional, for securing housings to the glove per Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly.

Tools

The PCB arrives fully assembled, and the tactor's wire-to-LRA connection is a friction fit made by a printed wire plug (see Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly) — so there is no soldering in this build.

Tool	Used in	Notes
Wire strippers/cutters	Part 3 Building the Tactors
Flush trim wire cutters	Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly	For trimming the bare wire ends flush before inserting the wire plug.
JST-PH crimping tool	Part 3 Building the Tactors	Only needed if you're crimping your own connectors instead of buying pre-crimped leads.
Tweezers	Part 3 Building the Tactors
Magnifying glass or magnifying desk lamp	Part 3 Building the Tactors, Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly	Helpful for the small LRA terminals and wire-plug assembly.
Soldering iron + thin solder	Part 3 Building the Tactors	Optional. Only if you choose to tin the bare wire ends for a firmer contact — not required; sets built with plain stripped wire work reliably.
Multimeter	Troubleshooting throughout	Not required for the happy path, but the fastest way to check continuity on a dead or intermittent channel — see Troubleshooting.
Fabric scissors	Part 5 Mounting Tactors in Glove Fingertips
Sewing needle, thread, thimble	Part 5 Mounting Tactors in Glove Fingertips
Marker, ruler	Part 5 Mounting Tactors in Glove Fingertips	For marking and sizing tactor placement.
3D printer (or print service)	Part 4 LRA Housing Assembly	Rigid filament (PLA/PETG) and a flexible filament (TPU 95A or flexible PLA) are both needed — see that page for settings.
A phone or tablet with BuzzahBuddy installed	Part 2 Flashing and Smoke Testing the Bare Board and every step after	For per-finger verification via the Calibration screen, and for running sessions. See Part 9 Using the Gloves.

Cost

Costs below are a rough range, not a quote — they vary by supplier, order quantity, shipping method, and whether you print housings yourself or use a print service. Treat this as a planning number, not a budget commitment.

Category	Estimated range (per pair)	Why it varies
Assembled PCBs (2×)	$100–250	JLCPCB assembly setup/stencil fees dominate at low quantity; the extended-library parts on this board (DRV2605L, TCA9548A, LSM6DS3, XIAO module) cost more to place than the basic-library passives. Ordering more boards at once lowers the per-board cost.
LRAs (10×)	$15–35	Per-unit LRA pricing varies by distributor and order quantity.
Springs + 3D-printed housings (10 sets)	$10–150	Near-free if you already own a printer and have filament on hand; meaningfully more if paying a print service for 10 sets in two filament types.
Batteries (2×)	$10–30	Depends on capacity and connector/lead options.
Gloves (2×)	$10–30
Wire, JST connectors, zip ties	$15–35
USB-C cable	$5–15
Total (parts, excluding tools already owned)	roughly $165–545

This is a materially different estimate from the earlier-generation build's published cost — both the BOM and the JLCPCB assembly scope changed for v3, so that older figure does not carry over. Don't use it as a reference point.

Tools are a separate, mostly one-time cost if you don't already own them: a wire stripper, JST-PH crimping tool, and multimeter together run well under $50, and a basic 3D printer (if you need one) is its own larger purchase well outside the scope of this estimate.

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