I find most of the approaches to Arduino breadboarding annoying. They work OK if you don't know what you want to make and you just want to mess around, but they are painful when you are ready to really make something useful.
I have spent countless hours soldering simple interconnect wires on prototype shields.They give me exactly what I need/want but why do I have to spend time soldering in yet another connector that doesn't do much more than pinout another connector?
Sensor shields are a pretty decent solution since they pin out everything with a power and ground for each signal, but they can get pretty pricey when you add in the cost of the shield and cabling. Plus they get pretty tall till you have a Processor, Sensor Shield and then the vertical wiring above all that.
Then, I saw a screw shield and it looked like the ideal solution for loose wires and builder frustrations. Easy to connect with just a small screwdriver. No connectors to install for simple wiring but no accommodation for I2C connections. The stackup height has less of the same height problems as a sensor shield. The screw shields got me thinking. It's a great idea, but why add the shield? Why not just take an Arduino design and replace the headers/pins with screw terminals?
Here is the result which I call the Screwduino:
"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” — Henry Wadsworth
Method | Material Costs | Labor Tasks | Power/Ground pins | Wires secure? | Mounting | I2C Support |
Processor | UNO - $30 | Strip wires and solder to parts | 3 GND 1 PWR |
Wires don't stay in holes with any stress. | Poor | No connector |
Breadboards | Uno - $30 + Breadboard $10 |
Strip wires or use breadboard wires | 120 each PWR/GND for 700 point breadboard | Moderately secure since the holes are usually “tight” | Poor | No connector |
ProtoShields | Uno - $30 + Shields - $15 |
Lot of time- consuming soldering of custom wiring | Vary but usually enough although maybe not connectorized in the best use | Wires typically soldered so secure | Poor | No connector |
Sensor Shields | Uno - $30 + Shields - $15 |
Use custom wires | Excellent at 1 per Arduino Digital/Analog pin | Connectors are secure | Poor | Yes |
Screw Wings | Uno - $30 + Wing Shield - $15 | Strip wires and solder to parts | Varies depending upon shield | Connections very secure | Poor | No connector |
Screwduino | $25 (est) | Strip wires and solder to parts | 5 – Ground 4 – Power Additional on other connectors |
Connections very secure | Excellent | Yes |
Rev X3 PL
0.1uF | 7 | C1 C3 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 |
10uF | 2 | C2 C4 |
1N4001 | 1 | D1 |
CONN_6 | 1 | JP1 |
CONN_3 | 1 | JP2 |
CONN_3X2 | 1 | JP3 |
CONN_8 | 4 | JP4 JP5 JP6 JP7 |
CONN_4 | 1 | JP8 |
JACK-3.5MM | 1 | K1 |
CONN_1 | 4 | MTG1 MTG2 MTG3 MTG4 |
10K | 3 | R1 R2 R3 |
SW_PUSH_OMRON | 1 | SW1 |
AP1117 | 1 | U2 |
ATMEGA328-P | 1 | U1 |
16MHz | 1 | X1 |
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