Dumb Noob Question...
So I have some projects that I've repeated a few times and am happy with. I think it's time to move from the breadboard to a more permanent foundation for these little projects.
So once you guys master a project, what do you use in place of the breadboard? What do you use to create a more permanent design? Can anyone point me to a good tutorial on how to create a finalized, more permanent form of a project without a breadboard?
For me, it depends on the complexity of the circuit. Do I want to downsize it (replace stuff with SMD parts etc)? How many tracks do I have? Are they easy to route or is it an ungodly mess?
If it's simple and not too critical, I'll just build it on a suitable prototyping board. If you worry about messing it up, you can even get them to match your breadboard layout so it's easier.
If not, I'll start up the EDA software and design something to get fabricated.
Stripboard (Veroboard), then PCB... If surface mount, breakout boards with headers (breadboard
and stripboard), then PCB (have an oven, so easy).
lol...did I mention I was a noob?
What do you guys mean by:
SMD Parts
What is a track? Is that the same thing as a connection?
What elements are included on a prototype board? I have on of those, but all it looks like is it has a million little holes for connections?
What is a PCB?
Cheers 
SMD - surface mount devices
Track = point to point connection
Prototype board - could be "island of holes" where each hole is unique, could have adjacent holes connected together, could have long strips that you cut to isolate components.
PCB - printed circuit board. Arduino is a fully assembled PCB for example. Handy if you need to make multiple copies of the same design. You can see many examples of PCBs at my website, www.crossroadsfencing.com/BobuinoRev17/
PCBs can be all through components, all SMD components, or a mix of the two.
For 1-time projects, I prefer "island of holes" protoboard with wirewrap sockets. Easy to make corrections if you make a mistake, or to make changes if you decide something is not working quite as you envisioned.
PCB means Printed Circuit Board.
A PCB has tracks, which are the copper lanes that connect the components on it. As per your diagram.
Normally a prototyping board includes absolutely nothing. You're the one deciding what goes where and how it all connects.
SMD means Surface Mounted Devices; the components you would use on a breadboard have leads that you'd stick through holes in the circuit board. SMD components do not, so they're not directly suitable for breadboard use. They are, however, normally a great deal smaller and afford you the option of mounting components on both sides of a circuit board.
You may find (increasingly) that parts are only available as SMD.
You can use a thruhole adapter to change them to DIP format (2 rows of parallel pins) or other formats (perhaps a set of pins arranged in a square) with 0.1" spacing that can be used on a protoboard.
This company Proto Advantage - has a big line of adapters, and will even buy the parts from www.digikey.com and mount them for you.
jdlev:
What do you guys mean by:
SMD Parts
What is a track? Is that the same thing as a connection?
What elements are included on a prototype board? I have one of those, but all it looks like is it has a million little holes for connections?
What is a PCB?
Given that you actually ask these questions, the answer is that you purchase cheap Pro Minis and either solder the connections to them without mounting the "header" pins, or if you have other simple components to mount, you mount the headers to the Pro Mini (or Nano if you need the USB) modules and use the headers to mount the module to "stripboard" in the same way you use a breadboard.
If you don't have the resources to make a PCB, you can purchase Perfboard google search , either with or without through-hole plated
pads. I prefer the pad-for-pad type found at RadioShack or Fry's Electronics. Some components may need heatsinks (To-220 packaged devices). You then solder the components together using hookup wire
(or wire-wrap wire) (20 guage to 30 guage , depending on function of connection. The caveat is that you
have only three options:
1- Pay a boardhouse to build your circuit and deliver a fully functional, stuffed PCB to you at a cost of
hundreds to thousands of dollars.
2- Start from scratch and learn how to solder. Start by hand soldering simple circuits, (like flip-flops) and progress to more complicated circuits. It could take you severeal weeks to several months master the craft of soldering and prototypling perfboard circuits. When I started in electronics I worked nights as a cook (until midnight or later) and spent all my spare off time building circuits and then tearing them apart and recycling the components because I didn't have room to store all the circuits I built (several per week). That was 30 yrs ago.
3- Send your schematic to Crossroads and get a quote for a PCB.
Edit: I prefer to make my own PCBs but:
Another method is point to point wiring using wire like this:
Or
http://www.verotl.com/en/category/wiring-systems
http://elm-chan.org/docs/wire/wiring_e.html
http://www.veecad.com/ Not sure if this is any good.
I prefer "protoboard" or "solderable breadboard" - the kind that has groups of 3 or 4 holes connected together, so you can use it much like breadboard, only soldering the wires, instead of just sticking them in. I find it very effective for putting together prototypes or one-off projects quickly. I had some protoboard made with normal prototyping area and some sets of SMD pads broken out to pins, to deal with the issue of SMD parts (see example in my avatar, or tindie link in sig to buy). Basic protoboard (with no smd pads) can be found on ebay and some electronics suppliers. Pay attention to the specs - some are double-sided, with plated through holes, some only have copper on one side.
Whether it makes sense to go with making a custom PCB or use prototyping board mainly depends on how many of whatever it is you're going to make. For a one-off device, I've found that I can get something assembled and working on protoboard very quickly - couple hours from idea to working device. But the downside is it takes just as long to make a second one if I decide I need that.
Larry, how do you do point-to-point with SMD? What about TQFN?
Use SMD to thru hole adapters.
www.proto-advantage.com
Adapters available, assembly service available, will even buy the parts from digikey and assemble for you.
CrossRoads:
www.proto-advantage.com
Great selection of breakout boards there, particularly for weirdo packages, wow - but the prices are kinda wacky.
Searching ebay for SMD DIP breakout turns up a lot of SMD breakout boards at much lower price points. I think I got a kit for like $10 that had 30-40 SMD-dip breakout boards of various sizes.
@Isaac96
This youTube demo shows how, about the 2 minute mark (see also 6:40 mark):
Glue down.
Kapton tape under leads.
Some chips are done upside down (dead bug method), which reverses the way the pins run.
Something interesting here also:
http://ultrakeet.com.au/write-ups/kaptonMasking
See this method also, can be quite neat:
Let me ask you guys something...what is your preferred solder gauge and type for assembling arduino prototype boards?
I use 0.032" and 0.062" 60/40 (or 63/37) leaded rosin core solder - thick stuff for wiring and pin header, thin stuff for everything else.
When flux is needed (mostly just for drag soldering SMD parts) I use "no clean gel flux" (that's the search term to use, comes in syringes that contain a lifetime supply).
Solder gauge should depend entirely on the components you're working with. For ordinary through-hole parts I usually use 0.8mm, and for SMD I shift to 0.38mm.
If you are a novice, go with 63/37 solder. 60/40 only exists to piss off people who are trying to learn
If you are a novice, go with 63/37 solder. 60/40 only exists to piss off people who are trying to learn
Just out of curiousity, how would a newbie know the difference between the two ?
raschemmel:
Just out of curiousity, how would a newbie know the difference between the two ?
63/37 is what's called an eutectic solder, i.e. it is an alloy that goes from solid to fluid at a given temperature. With a non-eutectic solder like 60/40, there is a temperature range where it is neither solid nor fluid, but in a sort of transitional state that is best described as a paste. It can be (exceedingly) difficult to tell when the solder is in this state. You might well think a joint is cooled enough to be solid, then you disturb it ever so slightly - and presto, cold solder joint.
There are virtually no upsides to using non-eutectic solder.
