Electronics prototyping is an important part of electronics device development. Prototyping means to build and test an early version of) an electronic circuit. Prototyping your product is all about learning. Each time you create a prototype version you will, or should, learn something new. Start with the most simple, low cost way to prototype your product. This posting gives you overview to different ways to build and prototype electronics circuits.
This video reviews several of the electronic circuit prototyping techniques. It is a good overview if many different techniques.
Electronics on the Floor: Five reasons not to use printed circuit boards for projects
How you begin prototyping your product’s electronics depends on what questions you are trying to answer.
If you have broad questions about whether your product will even work, or whether it will solve the intended problem, then you may be wise to begin with an early works-like prototype based on a development kit such as an Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Then wire some external functionality like sensors to it with jumper wires and/or add-on boards as needed.
If there are no big questions about your product’s functionality then for professional electronics design you should probably move right to designing a custom PCB. Most large companies developing products begin with a custom PCB. This is the fastest route to market, although not likely the cheapest. If you are an electronics hobbyist or need to build one-off device for a specific use quickly, then some other methods might be more suitable.
Alligator clip test cables
Wires with alligator clips are useful in electronics lab for making temporary connections. Those alligator wires can be used to make simple temporary circuits when you need to connect just few components together.
Alligator Clips Electrical DIY Test Leads
Alligator Clips – Electrical Tutorial – HWFCI
How sucks the cheap alligator clip compared with the 10 times price one
Hook Test Leads vs Alligator Clip
Jumper wires
Dupont type jumper wires are extremely handy components to have on hand, especially when prototyping with a development kit such as an Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Jumper wires are simply wires that have connector pins at each end, allowing them to be used to connect two points to each other without soldering. You can use them to connect easily development kit boards together, to breadboard or to sensors.
#12 Five Tricks for working with Dupont wires
Arduino Prototyping Basics #17: Jumper Wires
Arduino prototyping basics Using jumper wires 3/8
Breadboard
Many electronics projects use something called a breadboard. A breadboard is a rectangular plastic board with a bunch of tiny holes in it. These holes let you easily insert electronic components to prototype. It is easy to push in wired component and it is easy to remove a component if you make a mistake, or just start over and do a new project. The term breadboard comes from the early days of electronics, when people would literally drive nails or screws into wooden boards on which they cut bread in order to connect their circuits. Luckily today there are better options. Modern breadboards are made from plastic, and come in all shapes, sizes, and even different colors. Read How to Use a Breadboard for more information.
How to Use a Breadboard
Cutting Perfect Jumper Wires (for breadboard)
Point to point wiring
Point-to-point or hand wiring is traced back to the time when electrical assemblies employed wire nuts or screws to hold wires to an insulated ceramic or wooden board. The modern version of point-to-point construction uses tag boards or terminal strips. It involves soldering components to the electrical assembly.
Point-to-point circuit board wiring is ideal when building a prototype or a customized, one-of-a-kind board. Point-to-point circuit board, which in essence is a hand-wired board. It has low capacitance between conductors since the connections are separated by air. Point to point wiring can be seen typically on tube amplifiers and simple DIY circuits.
Dead bug prototyping
Dead bug prototyping is a way of building working electronic circuits, by soldering the parts directly together, or through wires instead of the traditional way of using a printed circuit board (PCB.) This type of circuit is often a quick way to get going on a project, and is a good way to test stuff, before investing in printed circuit boards. You are often making interesting looking 3D circuits, rather than 2D circuits.
Freeform circuits
Freeform electronics are a way of building working electronic circuits, by soldering the parts directly together, or through wires instead of the traditional way of using a printed circuit board (PCB.) You are often making interesting looking 3D circuits, rather than 2D circuits.
What is a freeform circuit sculpture? It is the art of creating a sculpture from electrical components using brass rods or wire to build the circuit into form. This is an aesthetically pleasing and highly compelling practice that typically doesn’t include circuit boards or enclosures, although they are sometimes still used. Web pages Dead Bug Prototyping and Freeform Electronics and Twelve Circuit Sculptures We Can’t Stop Looking At have nice looking artistic examples of this kind of circuits.
Freeform Circuitry // #TBT
Veroboard
Veroboard is a brand of stripboard, a pre-formed circuit board material of copper strips on an insulating bonded paper board which was originated and developed in the early 1960s. It was introduced as a general-purpose material for use in constructing electronic circuits and is very useful for constructing small to medium size prototype circuits. The generic terms ‘veroboard’ and ‘stripboard’ are now taken to be synonymous. In using Veroboard, components are suitably positioned and soldered to the conductors to form the required circuit. Breaks can be made in the tracks and jumper wires are added as needed. The versatility of the veroboard/stripboard type of product is demonstrated by the large number of design examples that can be found on the Internet.[
Circuit Board Prototyping: Breadboards, Padboards, Stripboards and More
Manhattan style circuit construction
“Manhattan Style” is a technique for constructing electronic circuits by gluing pads or traces to make “islands” of separate conductivity on top of a base material. The “Manhattan style” is a very old method of circuit construction. It’s especially popular among radio amateurs for high frequency circuits because it has a solid ground plane that helps to reduce interference and noise. To build Manhattan style you need a copper clad board (one-sided is OK). The first step is to make small cutouts in the copper for the component pads and cut the board to a good size. Some builders do not make cutouts, but glue small pieces of circuit boards on the copper to get “isolated islands”. Cut out small pieces of copperboard (from another piece of board) and glue them onto the main copperboard to serve as component mounting platforms.
Extreme prototype board wiring techniques
Printed circuit boards
Printed circuit boards are the norm in most modern electronic products. A printed circuit board electrically connects, through mechanical support, electronic components through the use of conductive tracks or pads etched from sheets of copper that are laminated into a non-conductive substrate. Electrical components, such as capacitors and resistors, are then soldered onto the printed circuit board. Typically printed circuit boards are designed with PCB design software and manufactured by circuit board manufacturing companies. But it is also possible to make your own circuit boards.
Making of PCBs at home, DIY using inexpenive materials
DIY PCB Toner Transfer (No Heat) & Etching
362 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raj Nakarja has really pushed the limit of what can be achieved through hand assembly, putting together some Bluetooth-equipped FPGA modules considerably smaller than a microSD card.
SiliconWitchery’s Raj Nakarja Pushes the Envelope on Hand Assembly with an Ultra Tiny Bluetooth FPGA
https://www.hackster.io/news/siliconwitchery-s-raj-nakarja-pushes-the-envelope-on-hand-assembly-with-an-ultra-tiny-bluetooth-fpga-61753f283384
Packed with components, including four BGA ICs and passives as small as 0201 package, the tiny modules are soldered using a homebrew oven.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/comments/it9ekh/hand_assembled_some_tiny_bluetooth_fpga_modules/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/11/hackaday-made-me-buy-it/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/10/making-pcbs-the-easy-way/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/26/hinge-brings-new-meaning-to-flexible-pcb/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flexible PCB Actuator
The thinnest Magnetic Actuator!
https://hackaday.io/project/159936-flexible-pcb-actuator
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breadboard Breaks The Speed Barrier
https://hackaday.com/2020/07/01/breadboard-breaks-the-speed-barrier/
It is common wisdom that solderless breadboards are only good for low frequencies. But how fast can they really go? There’s been a contest going on to see who can make the fastest breadboard-mounted oscillator and [Joe Smith] has been trying to keep his leading position. He’s already managed 6 GHz and now he’s shooting for 20 GHz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9TweWf3w8
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCB Papercraft
Following the normal papercraft workflow, but with PCBs instead
https://hackaday.io/project/174910-pcb-papercraft
Tomi Engdahl says:
Counter project in this naked freeform shape. It was great soldering practice. Great project for beginers with cheap components. Here is whole video with instructions https://youtu.be/nyTuWbSXmvE
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultra-fast PCB Prototype $5 for 5pcs
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Order now @ http://www.allpcb.com/?code=FB1
Follow @ALLPCB.com for an additional $5 discount.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learn more about what’s in your PCB manufacturing files and how your fabricator uses them to produce your boards.
What’s in Your PCB Manufacturing Files?
https://www.nwengineeringllc.com/article/whats-in-your-pcb-manufacturing-files.php
Take a look at freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiver, and you’ll find plenty of PCB designers who offer PCB layout and Gerber file preparation services. If you want to take your new board over to a fabricator to produce at high volume, you’ll need to give them much more than Gerber files and your PCB layout. Professional fabrication and assembly services need a full package of PCB manufacturing files to create your next circuit board at volume.
Cheap manufacturers will give you a bare board from your Gerber files without any further checks into your PCB layout or manufacturing files. When you work with the right manufacturing service and a professional design firm, you’ll get a complete set of files that have been thoroughly checked for accuracy. Not all manufacturers will generate these files for you, and you’ll need to deliver a set of files alongside your PCB layout data. Here’s what goes into your PCB manufacturing documentation and what you should expect from an experienced design team.
Tomi Engdahl says:
11 Myths About PCB Layout
PCB layout is not as straightforward as one might think—there is an art form to being effective.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/boards/article/21802061/11-myths-about-pcb-layout?utm_source=UM_Classics10120&utm_medium=email&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=33061&elq2=775f4ea41d8c45c2831f9b9af4da774c&oly_enc_id=7211D2691390C9R
As the need increases for engineers, inventors and hobbyists to include a PCB in their projects, so does the need for knowledge transfer for PCB layout. Awareness of the myths of layout and adjusting accordingly can improve the time to market and cost of the project simply by reducing design spins and additional troubleshooting and engineering evaluations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Utilizing Arduino and other various components, sunyecz06 was able to turn an ordinary toaster into automated surface mount reflow oven.
Converting a $20 Conventional Toaster Oven Into a Reflow Oven
https://www.hackster.io/news/converting-a-20-conventional-toaster-oven-into-a-reflow-oven-ba4e4aa1e1b0
Utilizing various components, sunyecz06 managed to turn an ordinary toaster into an automated surface mount reflow oven.
https://www.instructables.com/Automatic-SMD-Reflow-Oven-From-a-Cheap-Toaster-Ove/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This 64-Bit “God’s Clock” Binary Counter Is a Completely Freeform LED Matrix Sculpture
https://www.hackster.io/news/this-64-bit-god-s-clock-binary-counter-is-a-completely-freeform-led-matrix-sculpture-f96c2f2cc6fb
Tauno Erik has proved that freeform sculptures are still cool with his 64-bit LED matrix binary counter called “God’s Clock.”
In the maker community, the term “freeform sculpture” refers to an electronic device that is constructed by hand in a freeform manner. The various electronic components that make up the circuit are usually connected by thick wire or conductive rods that are able to support those components. This gives the maker a lot of freedom to form the sculpture in artistic ways that aren’t possible with flat PCBs or perfboards. It seems that freeform sculptures reached the climax of their popularity last year, but the art is still going strong. Tauno Erik has proved that with his most recent creation: a 64-bit binary counter called “God’s Clock” that features a freeform LED matrix.
Matrix – freeform circuit
https://taunoerik.art/portfolio/matrix/
Tomi Engdahl says:
From https://www.facebook.com/groups/electronichobycircuits/permalink/3657437120947637/
Why do we insist on using copper sinking process?
At present, in order to achieve timeliness and low price, many small-batch production enterprises adopt the production process of polymer conductive adhesive. Generally, the problem of double panel is not big.
However, the production process of polymer conductive adhesive is unstable, and the heat generated by power on may cause the connection place to separate
But the copper sinking process does not have this risk, and its intermediate layer connection glue and metal palladium are very stable
Tomi Engdahl says:
Put That New Resin Printer To Work Making PCBs
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/09/put-that-new-resin-printer-to-work-making-pcbs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to assemble an outdoors electronics project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IObVtX9ZrJo
Tomi Engdahl says:
#123: Build a crystal oscillator from schematic thru prototype construction and testing – DIY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blalAktxFoI
Tomi Engdahl says:
How It’s Made – McIntosh Tube Amp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HgS6gvokEI
they show some of the steps in building a McIntosh tube amp
Tomi Engdahl says:
SMD Breadboard Adaptors Skip Schematic, Goes Straight To PCB
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/17/smd-breadboard-adaptors-skip-schematic-goes-straight-to-pcb/
If you need to add one or two SMT chips to your breadboarded prototype, [Travis Hein] has you covered. He designed a set of small SMD adaptor boards for various SOIC, SOT23, and DPAC patterns using KiCad. He has released them as open source, so you can feel free to use them or modify them as needed.
https://github.com/marsairforce/breakout_boards
Tomi Engdahl says:
MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory’s MorphSensor is a 3D design tool that can be used to reform existing sensor modules to fit into a new, arbitrary form factor.
Prototype Like a Pro
https://www.hackster.io/news/prototype-like-a-pro-8a14342ed8f1
Redesign bulky sensor modules in 3D to fit any device prototype with MorphSensor.
For an electronics hobbyist, when inspiration strikes it is time to draw up a design and acquire the parts in the bill of materials. canning the products at any electronics distributor, you will find a huge selection of sensors and other components to fit most any need — but the form factors are usually a one-size-fits-all square or rectangular shape. These components need to fit the device in the mind of the hobbyist, whether that be a pair of glasses, a wristwatch, or otherwise. It is no surprise then that these device prototypes are often a mess of wires and hot glue that are several times larger than they should be.
A team at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has developed a new tool that can tame the wild prototypes of a hobbyist. MorphSensor is a 3D design tool that can be used to reform existing sensor modules to fit into a new, arbitrary form factor.
https://hcie.csail.mit.edu/research/morphsensor/morphsensor.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCB layout will eventually be fully automated. Although the effectiveness of automated place-and-route algorithms has declined over the years as designs became more complex.The age of artificial intelligence (AI) for ECAD has arrived.
https://www.pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/editorial/menu-features/15091-it-s-about-time-let-s-automate-high-speed-constraints
#pcbs #pcbdesign #pcbmanufacturing #pcblayout #pcbassembly #pcbsmt #fpga #fpgadesign #embededhardware #opensource #arduino #embedsystem #iotdevices #electronics #programming #engineering #sntpcb
Tomi Engdahl says:
Astable Exhalation Is a Topical Freeform Sculpture Designed to Encapsulate 2020
https://www.hackster.io/news/astable-exhalation-is-a-topical-freeform-sculpture-designed-to-encapsulate-2020-af34d1462122
Bornach, taking inspiration from the pandemic itself, used the quarantine to build a freeform sculpture called Astable Exhalation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Make professional PCBs at home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXCVTPdhhss
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making a Circuit Board From Scratch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Umk5aG8Y4
Tomi Engdahl says:
CNC Your PCB Prototype
Grinding out copper is one way to create a printed circuit board, and low-cost CNC milling machines have improved to the point where it’s possible for many.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/altembedded/article/21146007/electronic-design-cnc-your-pcb-prototype
What you’ll learn
How milling machines can be used to create simple PCBs.
Challenges of using low-cost solutions.
Higher-end alternatives.
Like 3D printers, low-cost 3D CNC machines have improved significantly over time. Likewise, the software available for PCB design and control of these machines has become easier to use and more readily available, often as open-source solutions. They’re also a good complement to 3D printers for the application space we were judging, as many of the students were already using 3D printers to create custom robot frames.
The price of low-cost 3D printers and CNC machines is on the order of a mid-range printer these days, making them affordable to students as well as full-time engineers.
Low-cost solutions do have their limitations, though. Speed and accuracy are often at the forefront, along with limitations on the size of the work area. Still, for many applications, these limitations aren’t problems. Likewise, especially for PCBs, building multiple linked boards is one way to create solutions within the confines of the tools.
The performance of these low-end machines is often more than sufficient for many projects. On top of that, there’s actually a spread of solutions from the low end to the high end.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.3dnatives.com/en/oltera-designs-printed-circuit-boards-thanks-to-additive-manufacturing-121020204/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.dummies.com/programming/electronics/components/electronics-components-how-to-read-capacitance-values-on-a-capacitor/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/capacitor/cap_5.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.queenmao.com.tw/resistor_color_code.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Manhattan style FM radio building
https://zerotechnology1992.blogspot.com/2020/10/fm.html?m=1
https://www.facebook.com/groups/electronichobycircuits/permalink/3757694584255223/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industry association tackles engineering of PCBs
https://www.edn.com/industry-association-tackles-engineering-of-pcbs/?utm_content=buffer101d9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=edn_facebook&utm_campaign=buffer
It’s hard to imagine electronics without PCBs, but they were a late-comer to the party. In the first decades of radio and computers, active devices (tubes) plugged into carriers mounted on a chassis, with those carriers hard-wired together and to the passive components. Often the final chassis was made of metal that could serve as a convenient ground connection, but they could be made of something else. A common prototyping technique, for instance, mounted carriers on a convenient slab of wood frequently found in kitchens of the era and drove in nails to serve as connection points – the origin of the term “breadboard.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Plug-In Modules To Make Microcontroller Breadboarding Easier
http://mag.breadboard.pk/diy-plug-in-modules-to-make-microcontroller-breadboarding-easier/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solder tracks pcb
https://youtu.be/xbD3F99bk5g
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY IR Proximity Sensor
Freeform proximity sensing device made with discrete components.
https://www.hackster.io/news/diy-ir-proximity-sensor-3b396b9269a1
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://sivantoledotech.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/reflow-soldering-toaster-oven/amp/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PrintedCircuitBoard/comments/45a6hm/safe_to_reflow_in_food_toaster_oven/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reflow Skillet
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/59
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reflow PCBs Using an Easy Bake Oven Right Out of the Box
The toy can act as a miniature reflow oven provided low-temp soldering paste, while a thermometer is used to know when to remove the tray.
https://www.hackster.io/news/reflow-pcbs-using-an-easy-bake-oven-right-out-of-the-box-a1a764b3d262
Can You Use an Easy Bake Oven for Reflow Soldering?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iopyx1IxjE
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/12/13/can-you-use-an-easy-bake-oven-for-reflow-soldering/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Did you know How do PCBs get manufactured???
https://youtu.be/-oB7uv5Pmto
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/01/10/circuit-sculpture-vibration-sensor/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/01/11/laser-blasts-out-high-quality-pcbs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Belgian Waffle Maker Gets a Reflow Oven Makeover
The ReflowWaffle is powered by Arduino and uses a MAX31855 and K-type thermocouple to maintain temperatures for soldering PCBs.
https://www.hackster.io/news/belgian-waffle-maker-gets-a-reflow-oven-makeover-0fbdb7ec38ba
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learn How to Completely Embed Electronics in Your 3D Prints
https://www.hackster.io/news/learn-how-to-completely-embed-electronics-in-your-3d-prints-669f1d6324b5
By following LuckyResistor’s guide, you can also use cavities in 3D-printed parts to enclose electronic components in seamless cases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Drew Fustini’s Simple Coin-Cell Battery Tester Is a Curving Single Board of OSH Park Flex PCB
https://www.hackster.io/news/drew-fustini-s-simple-coin-cell-battery-tester-is-a-curving-single-board-of-osh-park-flex-pcb-0aa8da663c27
Clever cut-outs let the flexible PCB bend a full 180 degrees, coming into contact with both battery terminals to light an LED.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oskitone’s Polyphonic POLY555 Synth Is Based on 555 Timer ICs
POLY555 Synth is a polyphonic synth, analog, square wave synth with 20 555 timer circuits.
https://www.hackster.io/news/oskitone-s-polyphonic-poly555-synth-is-based-on-555-timer-ics-023be395ea1d
Tomi Engdahl says:
Graphene-Based Conductive Ink Delivers a Low-Cost Ballpoint Pen for Drawing Flexible Circuits
Where existing conductive inks are expensive, unstable, or clog a ballpoint pen, this new ink promises dramatic improvements.
https://www.hackster.io/news/graphene-based-conductive-ink-delivers-a-low-cost-ballpoint-pen-for-drawing-flexible-circuits-b6edf85f03c8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electric Circuit Building Game
This DIY electronic puzzle lets you construct circuits by plugging blocks into a 3D-printed board.
https://www.hackster.io/news/electric-circuit-building-game-cb2faab931c4
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCB 12-in-1 Multitool Is the Swiss Army Knife for Electronics Prototyping
https://www.hackster.io/news/pcb-12-in-1-multitool-is-the-swiss-army-knife-for-electronics-prototyping-56e7ffb6437c
This compact PCB features a variable frequency generator, bi-directional logic level converter, multimeter breadboard extender, and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Making 3D Printed Circuit Boards With Tinkercad
https://www.instructables.com/Making-3D-Printed-Circuit-Boards-With-Tinkercad/
Creating a professional-grade PCB requires expensive tooling and are more commonly sourced from places like PCBWay.There are however many ways to make a DIY PCB such as CNC milling or acid etching, but these methods can also be costly, time consuming, and challenging for beginners.
Through this Instructable, I will be sharing an easy method to make DIY PCBs using Tinkercad, a 3D modeling program for all, a 3D printer, and some conductive filament!
There are plenty of programs that can help design your PCB like Autodesk EAGLE or Fritzing. While these programs are really intended to design PCBs for CNC milling or industry production, they are powerful tools that make mapping tracks and pads easier than planning by hand for complex designs.
In addition to planning where our tracks and pads need to be, it’s also important to know the dimensions of your components. In the next step, we will be modeling our pads and if they aren’t in the right spot, our components will not fit into the final board!