Breadboard
What is breadboard?
• A breadboard is a solderless
construction base used for
developing an electronic circuit
and wiring for projects with
microcontroller boards like
Arduino. As common as it seems,
it may be daunting when first
getting started with using one.
What is a "solderless" breadboard?
• Technically, these breadboards are called solderless breadboards
because they do not require soldering to make connections. Soldering
(pronounced SAW-der-ing) is a method where electronic components are
joined together by melting a special type of metal called solder.
• Electronic components can be soldered directly together, but more
commonly they are soldered onto printed circuit boards (PCBs). PCBs are
what you will see if you take the cover off many electronic devices, like a
computer or cell phone.
• Frequently, engineers will use solderless breadboards to prototype and test
a circuit before building the final, permanent design on a PCB. This image
shows the same circuit (battery, switch, resistor, and LED) built three
different ways: on a solderless breadboard (left), with the components
soldered directly together (middle), and on a printed circuit board (right):
Soldering is a great technique to learn if you are interested in
electronics, but the connections are much more permanent
and it requires purchasing some tools to get started.
Types of Breadboard available at
Seed
• We’ve seen the type of breadboard originating in the
past, but for the modern-day solderless breadboard, it
comes in different types; full-sized, Full+, half-sized, Half+,
and mini.
• 3
• With the size difference, there
may be variances in how the
different rows and columns of
wire strips are connected
though the general principle
should remain the same
• Although the main difference
comes in size, there are
different shapes and colour
options available as well.
How is a Breadboard constructed?
• When you first lay your hands on a breadboard, you’ll find
that there are many pinholes and start to wonder how do I
start connecting things?
• However, before you get started, you’ll need to
understand the components of a breadboard to avoid
misusage.
Bus and Terminal Strips
• A breadboard consists of two
areas called strips, and are often
separated from the middle portion
(commonly known as ravine).
• Bus strips are mainly used for
power supply connections
Bus and Terminal Strips
• Terminal strips are mainly used for
electrical components
• Each strip consist of 5 pinholes,
indicating that you only can connect
up to 5 components in one
• particular section
Note: Although each row has 10
pinholes, you can only connect 5
components as the ravine isolates both
sides of a given row. This isolation
restricts electrical connection between
both sides.
How to wire a breadboard?
• Note how the holes
coloured in orange are
connected together. These
sets of connecting holes can
be called a node, where it’s
possible to interconnect the
node from bus strips to
terminal strips with jumper
wires!
Metal clips
• Metal clips are what that goes
underneath the bus and
terminal strips and can be seen
when a breadboard is either
taken apart or has a
transparent outer layer.
• The function of these metal
clips is to grab onto an
electronic component when
it’s plugged into the pinhole.
They are spaced 2.54mm apart
as well.
Which electronic component can
you use?
• So long as an electronic component has leads or pins, it
can be used with a breadboard
• Leads: Long metal legs protruding out the component
• Pins: Shorter metal legs
How to read breadboard Row and Columns?
• Now that we’ve talked about the
breadboard pin functions and
what goes underneath it. Its time
to explain the labeling on it.
• You may have spotted the
numbering, letters, and signage
written on a breadboard. These
are written to help you locate
the individual hole in the
breadboard, similarly to how
finding a cell in an Excel
spreadsheet works.
• The example as seen above:
Hole C12 = Column C, Row 12
What do the “+” and “-” signs mean?
Breadboard Power Rails
• Numbering and letters aside, the positive and negative
signs on both sides of the breadboard are power rails,
used to power your circuit by connecting battery pack or
external power supply.
• There’s no physical difference between positive and
negative buses, where labeling is merely for reference
and better organization of circuits.
Power rail connection
• However, as power rails on
either side are not connected,
you’ll need to connect both
sides with jumper wires to
establish the same power
source on both sides.
• Ensure that you connect the
positive end on one side to the
positive end on the other,
negative side on one side to
the other
