STM32-Serial-to-Ethernet-Converter
An STM32F103 + W5500–based UART-to-TCP bridge that acts like an open-source USR-TCP232 module, enabling transparent Serial ⇄ Ethernet communication.
👤AUTHOR
vorun
An embedded systems developer focused on STM32, low-level peripheral programming, bare-metal drivers, and lightweight network stacks.
He builds educational microcontroller projects, custom bootloaders, and minimal network gateways using pure C and open hardware tools.
🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/vorun/STM32-Serial-to-Ethernet-Converter
🎯PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project implements a Serial-to-Ethernet Converter that bridges RS232, RS485, and CAN communication to Ethernet TCP using:
- STM32F103C8T6 (Blue Pill)
- WIZnet W5500 (Hardware TCP/IP Ethernet Controller)
The device works as a transparent Serial ⇄ TCP gateway—similar to industrial devices like USR-TCP232—allowing legacy serial devices to be accessed remotely over a network.
Compared to software-based ENC28J60 designs, the W5500 drastically improves performance, reliability, and reduces MCU load by handling TCP/IP in hardware.
🧩COMPONENTS
🧠 Hardware
- STM32F103C8T6 development board
- RS232 (5V level, USART1)
- RS485 (3.3V, USART2)
- CAN (5V, CAN peripheral)
- WIZnet W5500 Ethernet Controller (SPI1)
🧰 SYSTEM OVERVIEW
[TCP Client: PC / Server / Application]
↑ ↓
Ethernet (TCP/IP)
↑
WIZnet W5500 Ethernet
↑ SPI
STM32F103 MCU
↑ UART
Serial Device (Sensor/MCU)
The STM32 simply reads/writes socket buffers via SPI,
while the W5500 handles TCP/IP packetization and link management.
This ensures:
- deterministic latency
- low CPU overhead
- stable operation under heavy traffic
✔ KEY FEATURES
🔹 Multi-Protocol Serial Support
- RS232 (DB-9)
- RS485 (3.3V differential)
- CAN (5V transceiver)
All mapped to Ethernet TCP.
🔹 Transparent Serial Bridge
Data passes between TCP client and serial port without modification:
- TCP → UART
- UART → TCP
This makes it compatible with:
- PLCs
- sensors
- CNC controllers
- industrial monitors
- legacy devices
🧪USE CASES
- Industrial PLC Ethernet integration
- Remote serial port server
- SCADA / HMI communication
- CNC machine networking
- CAN-bus monitoring over LAN
- Legacy equipment modernization
📌 This UCC focuses on the hardware capabilities of the design. The original project provides hardware resources only—no official firmware or ready-to-use software stack is included. Users are expected to build their own S2E firmware or integrate custom communication protocols using STM32 and the W5500.
