Waveshare ESP32-S3 5-Inch Display Development Board

The board accepts a wide 7–36V DC input via its terminal block. Ensure your power supply can deliver sufficient current for the display and peripherals. The onboard regulator steps this down to the required 3.3V for the ESP32-S3 core. For low-power sleep modes, you can also utilize the MX1.25 2P battery header to connect a backup battery, which is managed by the onboard RTC chip.

You can develop using Espressif's official ESP-IDF, Arduino IDE with the ESP32-S3 board package, or PlatformIO. For the 5-inch display, the board supports LVGL (Light and Versatile Graphics Library) for creating graphical interfaces. You'll need to configure the RGB display driver in your project. Example code and pin definitions are typically provided by Waveshare in their GitHub repository or product wiki to accelerate your HMI application development.

The CAN (Controller Area Network) and RS485 interfaces use isolated transceivers. Connect your external CAN or RS485 bus lines to the corresponding screw terminal blocks on the board. You must enable the interfaces in your firmware—typically by initializing the UART for RS485 (with DE/RE control pins) and the CAN controller driver for CAN. The isolation protects the ESP32-S3 from ground loops and high-voltage transients common in industrial environments.

The isolated digital inputs and outputs use bi-directional optocouplers, allowing you to safely interface with external 24V or other industrial logic levels without risking the microcontroller. Configure an input by connecting your external signal to the terminal; the board translates it to a 3.3V logic signal. For outputs, you can sink up to 450mA to drive relays or indicators. Your firmware controls these via designated GPIO pins, which are mapped in the board's schematic.