soldering perfboard

[Isaac]

hi all, i am not ready to begin creating my own PCB, and i have a few
projects that i'd like to place in a more permanent home... perfboard
seems the best solution, and i already have quite a few... however,
the perboard that i do have are not laid out like a breadboard at all
- no pad is connected to any other... i know i could solder short wire
underneath to connect pads to one another, but i've read that there is
some product that is manufactured for this purpose... apparently, it
works by twisting leads through the board... unfortunately, i've had
no luck locating it again, and with no proper training in soldering,
i'm looking for the best way to create neat (meaning organized and
soldered properly) projects, not just wires and poorly soldered joints
all over the place...

thanks!
isaac

 

[Isaac]

You've purchased 'pad-per-hole' perf board. Practice arranging the
physical components such that the minimum number of jumper wires
is necessary.

You would then solder the pads that a component uses to hold that
component in place. You can create solder bridges to connect the
various components that are in adjacent holes or use a wire,
insulated or bare for the more widely separated components. If you
need a buss, you can place a bare wire on the under side of the perf
board after the components are tacked into place. If you need to simply
connect two points, use an insulated wire on the top side of the perf board.
Strip the wire ends and position it in an adjacent hole, tack the wire into
place and then bridge the two pads on the underside.

It would look neater if the runs were always straight though this is just
a 'style point'. You can make a corner using two jumpers that are bridged
below and run at 90 degrees to each other.

Have fun !

thanks, LG... so even more seasoned builders will bridge circuits by
simply soldering underneath?... or is there a better type of perfboard
to use?...

also, is it okay to solder ICs in this manner, or am is my best
approach to use a socket?...

thanks,
isaac

 

[Lord Garth]

hi all, i am not ready to begin creating my own PCB, and i have a few
projects that i'd like to place in a more permanent home... perfboard
seems the best solution, and i already have quite a few... however,
the perboard that i do have are not laid out like a breadboard at all
- no pad is connected to any other... i know i could solder short wire
underneath to connect pads to one another, but i've read that there is
some product that is manufactured for this purpose... apparently, it
works by twisting leads through the board... unfortunately, i've had
no luck locating it again, and with no proper training in soldering,
i'm looking for the best way to create neat (meaning organized and
soldered properly) projects, not just wires and poorly soldered joints
all over the place...

You've purchased 'pad-per-hole' perf board. Practice arranging the
physical components such that the minimum number of jumper wires
is necessary.

You would then solder the pads that a component uses to hold that
component in place. You can create solder bridges to connect the
various components that are in adjacent holes or use a wire,
insulated or bare for the more widely separated components. If you
need a buss, you can place a bare wire on the under side of the perf
board after the components are tacked into place. If you need to simply
connect two points, use an insulated wire on the top side of the perf board.
Strip the wire ends and position it in an adjacent hole, tack the wire into
place and then bridge the two pads on the underside.

It would look neater if the runs were always straight though this is just
a 'style point'. You can make a corner using two jumpers that are bridged
below and run at 90 degrees to each other.

Have fun !

 

[Isaac]

If you are sure that your IC are good and cheap and the circuit is not
critical, sure, solder them directly to the perf board. You can socket
the more expensive or reprogramable IC like a small micro controller
that might need reprogramming to get the circuit operating.

You can get perf board that has about 5 holes in a row from each pin, down
the entire length of the board. These are then usually 'boxed in' by power
rails
on each side. It is very convenient when you are placing decoupling
caps near to digital IC's to have the power rails under the DIP body.
This makes it possible to solder the cap close by the IC.

thanks, again... it sounds like i should be looking for that type of
board (with rails), but sadly i don't know the name... when i jump
online or am at a local parts store, should i be shopping for a
specific name?...

thanks,
isaac

 

[Lord Garth]

thanks, LG... so even more seasoned builders will bridge circuits by
simply soldering underneath?... or is there a better type of perfboard
to use?...

also, is it okay to solder ICs in this manner, or am is my best
approach to use a socket?...

If you are sure that your IC are good and cheap and the circuit is not
critical, sure, solder them directly to the perf board. You can socket
the more expensive or reprogramable IC like a small micro controller
that might need reprogramming to get the circuit operating.

You can get perf board that has about 5 holes in a row from each pin, down
the entire length of the board. These are then usually 'boxed in' by power
rails
on each side. It is very convenient when you are placing decoupling
caps near to digital IC's to have the power rails under the DIP body.
This makes it possible to solder the cap close by the IC.

 

[JeffM]

it sounds like i should be looking for that type of board
(with rails), but sadly i don't know the name

It's not necessary to re-quote
EVERY bit of EVERY previous post in the thread.
**TRIM** what isn't absloutely necessary.

http://www.google.com/search?q=cach...zz+commercial.version.with.color+free.version

 

[Lord Garth]

thanks, again... it sounds like i should be looking for that type of
board (with rails), but sadly i don't know the name... when i jump
online or am at a local parts store, should i be shopping for a
specific name?...

Not that I know Isaac! Just look at the foil traces and you'll be able to
tell.
Perhaps Vector has such a perf board. Also, the more professional
prototyping
products are going to be tinned so that the copper doesn't corrode. If
yours
isn't tinned, clean it well before you begin. The soldering will go much
better.

This will run the board cost up but you're better off.

Here is a link to such products on Vectors page:
http://www.vectorelect.com/Pattern.htm

 

[Nobody]

thanks, again... it sounds like i should be looking for that type of
board (with rails), but sadly i don't know the name... when i jump
online or am at a local parts store, should i be shopping for a
specific name?...

It's called "stripboard" or "veroboard".

It's available in various layouts. The most general layout has strips
running all the way across the board. You need to break the strips where
you don't want connections (e.g. under an IC). There are specialised tools
for this, although a suitably-sized drill bit works just as well.

The other common layout is like a plug-board, with short strips and rails
either along the edges or down the middle. This is more suitable if
your projects tend to be based around ICs.

 

[Chris]

thanks, again... it sounds like i should be looking for that type of
board (with rails), but sadly i don't know the name... when i jump
online or am at a local parts store, should i be shopping for a
specific name?...

thanks,
isaac- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

..Hi, Isaac. For the smaller projects, your answer could be as close
as the local Radio Shack. Their p/n 276-170 ($3.49, in stock at just
about every store) is made to transfer directly from your protoboard
-- 5 holes per just like a protoboard, with single supply rails above
and below the working space. Really convenient for knocking off
smaller single supply projects that require less than 5" of space on
one row of your protoboard -- you can just take the components and
wires directly off the protoboard and solder them to this perfboard.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102846&cp

They used to have several of these types of boards I liked more, but
they've discontinued them. I find these to be faster than point-to-
point, and have used them for lower-speed stuff where layout isn't
critical. And the fact that Radio Shack is open on weekends, so I can
get it today, is always a plus.

If you're willing to wait for mail order, I understand Futurlec has a
couple of inexpensive boards that might suit:

http://www.futurlec.com/ProtoBoards.shtml

They're hobbyist-friendly, and don't have minimum orders AFAIK.

Good luck
Chris

 

[Rich Grise]

hi all, i am not ready to begin creating my own PCB, and i have a few
projects that i'd like to place in a more permanent home... perfboard
seems the best solution, and i already have quite a few... however, the
perboard that i do have are not laid out like a breadboard at all - no
pad is connected to any other... i know i could solder short wire
underneath to connect pads to one another, but i've read that there is
some product that is manufactured for this purpose... apparently, it
works by twisting leads through the board... unfortunately, i've had no
luck locating it again, and with no proper training in soldering, i'm
looking for the best way to create neat (meaning organized and soldered
properly) projects, not just wires and poorly soldered joints all over
the place...

Practice, practice, practice! Pick one of your perfboards, and cut
some small pieces of bare wire, and solder the bare wires into the
holes. Practice doing this until you can make good joints - it
doesn't take long.
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=solder+joints

I've done this for years; I use #30 wire-wrap wire for the connections.

Have Fun!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

also, is it okay to solder ICs in this manner, or am is my best approach
to use a socket?...

For something like this, I'd use sockets.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

Here is a link to such products on Vectors page:
http://www.vectorelect.com/Pattern.htm

I like the 8007:
http://www.vectorelect.com/Circbord.htm

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Webb]

thanks, again... it sounds like i should be looking for that type of
board (with rails), but sadly i don't know the name... when i jump
online or am at a local parts store, should i be shopping for a
specific name?...

Futurlec has both the "continuous run" (stripboard) and "4-hole with
rails" prototype boards at a pretty good price.
http://www.futurlec.com/ProtoBoards.shtml

Stripboard seems to be more common in the UK and points east but it
can be an alternative to home etching or a commercial board house.
There's a free stripboard layout app at http://www.veecad.com as well
as a full version that's not too expensive. It can accept netlists
from a couple of free schematic editors, including KiCad
http://kicad.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

 

[neon]

try using wire wraps faster to use easy to repair and can be used again and again by stripping NO SOLDERING.

 

[Isaac]

thanks for all the info... i'm pretty sure i have enough info to get
me rolling... i'm assuming it's okay to saw off any portions of the
board that i don't need to use and can reuse it for another
project?... also, are there standards for enclosures?...

thanks,
isaac

 

[Chris]

thanks for all the info... i'm pretty sure i have enough info to get
me rolling... i'm assuming it's okay to saw off any portions of the
board that i don't need to use and can reuse it for another
project?... also, are there standards for enclosures?...

thanks,
isaac

Gosh, yes! Always save extra pieces of perfboard -- they're really
handy for cobbling together little blivet boards.

Just make sure you don't slice until you're sure you won't need the
extra space!

Cheers
Chris

 

[/dev/phaeton]

.Hi, Isaac. For the smaller projects, your answer could be as close as
the local Radio Shack. Their p/n 276-170 ($3.49, in stock at just about
every store) is made to transfer directly from your protoboard -- 5

I was just going to point him to my fave:

http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2265164w345.jpg

This is about the only thing I buy from Radio Shack on a regular basis,
and I'll be sad when they are discontinued.

Otherwise, my fave place to get good quality but small pad-per-hole is
smallbear:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Categories.bok?category=PC+Boards+and
+Prototyping

Steve's also got stripboard and mounting hardware, and he's a super nice
guy!

-ph