Part

E-paper display, SSD1680 2.13 inch

250x122 black and white e-paper over SPI. Seconds to refresh, and it keeps the picture with no power.

8 pins
In 1 project

Drawn live by the editor's own code, at the size you see it.

At a glance

The E-paper display, SSD1680 2.13 inch in brief

What it is, and where it sits on the bench.

The SSD1680 drives the 2.13 inch 250x122 black and white e-paper modules from WeAct and Waveshare, panel DEPG0213BN. Its eight pins are VCC, GND, SDA, SCL, CS, DC, RES and BUSY, where SDA and SCL are write-only SPI data and clock, and it runs from 3.3 V. On an Uno, SDA goes to 11 and SCL to 13 with the other four on free pins; on an ESP32, 23 and 18. Mokxi models the command set: the black and white RAM (0x24, 1 is white), the second RAM (0x26) that holds the old picture for a partial refresh, the RAM window and data entry modes, 0x22 and 0x20 to run an update, and deep sleep (0x10) that only a reset on RES ends. BUSY stays high for 2 s through a full refresh and 0.4 s through a partial one, the glass changes only when a refresh finishes, and it keeps its picture with the power off. The classic mistake is a whole-panel GxEPD2 buffer on an Uno, 4000 bytes, which is why the badge draws in pages. The flashing, ghosting, temperature and reads are not modeled.

Family: Displays
Pins: 8

Pins

8 pins

Named as the editor names them, so a wire lands where you expect it.

Role

What it does

VCC

Input or output

Supply, 3.3 V.

GND

Input or output

Ground.

SDA

Input

SPI data in (MOSI). It says SDA, but it is SPI.

SCL

Input

SPI clock.

Input

Chip select, active low.

Input

Command (low) or data (high).

RES

Input

Reset, active low. It is also the only way out of deep sleep.

BUSY

Output

High while the controller works. Wait for it to go low before the next command.

How to use it

How to use a 2.13 inch e-paper display with an Arduino

VCC goes to the Uno’s 3.3 V pin, not 5 V. SDA is SPI data, to pin 11, and SCL the clock, to 13; then CS to 10, DC to 9, RES to 8 and BUSY to 7. GxEPD2_213_BN takes those last four in that order. BUSY is how the panel says it is still refreshing, so it needs a pin of its own.

The panel is 250x122, bigger than an Uno’s RAM can hold, so the name badge draws it in pages of 50 rows inside a firstPage() and do { } while (nextPage()) loop. The full refresh takes about two seconds; the button swaps the bottom line with setPartialWindow(), in 0.4 s. hibernate() then sleeps the controller, and the picture stays.

Part pin

Board pin

VCC

3.3 V

GND

SDA

Pin 11

SCL

Pin 13

Pin 10

Pin 9

RES

Pin 8

BUSY

Pin 7

GxEPD2_BW compiles on every board here but the ATtiny85, for the SSD1680 panels only. An ESP32 has room for the whole frame at once.

Arduino Uno: e-paper name badgelive0.000 s 0.00x

Hold the button

This is the simulator itself, running here. Click anything to open it in the editor.

Open this project in the editor Read the full tutorial

How it is modeled

What is true about the E-paper display, SSD1680 2.13 inch, here

In its help article’s own words: what the simulation gets right, and where it stops.

Modeled

The SPI commands above, both RAMs, the RAM window and the data entry modes, BUSY high through a software reset, a refresh and a power sequence, deep sleep that only a reset ends, and a picture that changes only when a refresh finishes and stays with the power off, from the SSD1680 datasheet.

Not modeled

How long a refresh takes is in the panel's waveform, not the controller's datasheet: here it is 2 s for a full refresh and 0.4 s for a partial one, the panel's typical figures. The flashing of a full refresh, ghosting after many partial ones, the temperature's effect, and the red RAM's part in the waveform are not modeled. Reads are not supported.

From SSD1680 e-paper display, 2.13 inch, in full.

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