Not really sure where this would go, so I am just posting it here.
I am designing a prototyping plattform (not directly arduino compatible - its something else I am tinkering with). I want it to have a prototyping area, sort of like this board
BUT. I dont want people to be required to solder to it. Because of other constraints, simply gluing a mini breadboard on it will also not work. The next best thing would be to simply have several rows of headers which are connected.
But I would prefer not to use through hole components, as I think I might end up needing more space on my pcb (it will be a double sided design) than I have available.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Ideas I might follow up?
While we are on the topic - do you have any favorite wierd prototyping boards? (Just so I see some other things, which might give me ideas?)
Here is an arduino shield which I just found and think is really cool:
It certainly will for some applications. For some it's even the best answer.
Possible drawbacks:
If you use adhesive to attach the breadboard, you may find the pads too gummed-up for later soldering. If you don't, the little sucker will, inevitably, make an escape attempt. Probably when it's most inconvenient. You should plan on making the arrangement permanent, and budget accordingly.
No supply rails on the teeny breadboards. Tends to make your proto more rat's-nest-y. Easier to make mistakes, and harder to find them.
It's just too small if you're doing anything more complicated than about 1 sensor and an op-amp.
Bascially, it's a good thing to have when you're doing the early learning exercises, and for occasional use when you have a really simple idea to try out. But you'll probably outgrow it in a fairly short time, so, again, plan ahead and budget for it.
fkeel:
Here is an arduino shield which I just found and think is really cool
It looks cool, but you can be certain that, sooner or later, you'll be inserting a component, or even just a wire, in the "cantilevered" area, and push just a little too hard. Then you wind up with one or more bent/broken pins.
Be sure it's designed for easy repair.
Their use of screw-machine sockets, instead of ordinary header sockets, is a huge plus: header sockets will often make intermittent connections to inserted wires. Especially the newer ones, which usually have just a "split blade" to connect to the pin, instead of the older, more expensive design that has a couple of flat spring fingers. You can easily wind up with the wire sitting beside the contacts in the hole, instead of between them.
2 cents, a perfboard and soldering iron, if you can afford an inch of lego bricks in your tight design, you can solder it together and make it small, much more robust, and cheaper with the same amount of effort
How about turn the problem on its head and use a Bread Board Compatible Arduino, this one is designed to plug right into a bread board, you could solder male or female headers to it.
There are other designs I have seen that sit right ontop of the ATMega328 chip, so the entire foot print of the Arduino is contained within the foot print of the 28pin chip, opens up a lot of options for space saving.
Something else quick and cheap that I used recently for prototyping - a stripboard standalone Arduino and female headers for jumpers -
And instead buy one that's longer. And glue a breadboard on top and insert the arduino in the box.
-Or perhaps a better idea:
Buy a large breadboard. > Desolder the pin headers from the arduino and solder in the same place pin headers with longer pins. Now just click the arduino on the breadboard via the longer pins.
The last solution is the best I suppose cause it doesn't evolve glueing and another advantage, you can easily remove the arduino from the breadboard. If you don't understand me tell me.
Somewhere in the forum is a picture of my Duemilanove screwed down onto a clear plastic clipboard with 3 full length solderless breadboards stuck on the clipboard (using the double-sided tape kind that came on the back of the breadboards).
There are quite a few similar designs about, seems ideal for compact prototyping - its not mine, I haven't built anything anywhere near as compact, but it does look very useful.