Point-to-point wiring and soldering on proto boards

Thread Starter

wsprague

Joined Sep 22, 2015
16
Hi all,

I am working through "Robot Building for Beginners" and about to build a protoboard with point to point wiring to power my robot, using this protoboard:

http://www.jameco.com/z/PCB-102-R-P...ck-0-1-Hole-Spacing-0-08-Pad-Size_105111.html

How does one connect a component, like a resistor lead, to a wire that will go to another component on the board? I can solder a single component lead or a single wire into a through hole, but not sure how to connect the component to the wire in a single through hole. I have 22 gauge wire, which won't fit into a hole if a component lead is already in the hole -- jamming them together is the only technique I can think of ... I hope that makes sense.

Do I need smaller wire? Or different protoboards? Or is there a technique I can't find on google?

I am new to soldering, so please be patient with my ignorance...

Note that I have changed some of the circuits from the book, so I can't just use the printed PCB from Solarbotics.

Thanks!!
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
I have used wire-wrap wire (30 AWG) with Kynar insulation. It is nice, but a little small for big fingers and a PITA to strip without the proper tool. (Yes, I know you can strip it with a soldering iron, but I don't like using my nice tips like that.)

I use a slightly heavier gauge. 26 AWG is available, but I tend to use 24 AWG with Kynar insulation. It strips with regular tools, and Kynar is so much nicer to work with than PVC insulation, because it doesn't shrink back from soldering heat. You can actually have a wire running right next (almost directly over) a hole to which you are soldering, and it doesn't melt. PVC would melt.

This was done with 30 AWG wire-wrap with Knyar:
upload_2016-9-1_4-37-11.png

And this was done with 24 AW Kynar. It shows what I described about having wires right close to soldered connections.

upload_2016-9-1_4-39-40.png


John
 

hp1729

Joined Nov 23, 2015
2,304
Hi all,

I am working through "Robot Building for Beginners" and about to build a protoboard with point to point wiring to power my robot, using this protoboard:

http://www.jameco.com/z/PCB-102-R-P...ck-0-1-Hole-Spacing-0-08-Pad-Size_105111.html

How does one connect a component, like a resistor lead, to a wire that will go to another component on the board? I can solder a single component lead or a single wire into a through hole, but not sure how to connect the component to the wire in a single through hole. I have 22 gauge wire, which won't fit into a hole if a component lead is already in the hole -- jamming them together is the only technique I can think of ... I hope that makes sense.

Do I need smaller wire? Or different protoboards? Or is there a technique I can't find on google?

I am new to soldering, so please be patient with my ignorance...

Note that I have changed some of the circuits from the book, so I can't just use the printed PCB from Solarbotics.

Thanks!!
Bend a lead over to make the contact between holes or just blob solder across the holes.
 
I use strip board for protoypes.
It has tracks in one direction only.
You can cut the tracks with a vero cutter or a drill bit.

If I am confident I have a working circuit I quite often go straight to pcb.
I get my pcb's made in China for about 1/3 of the price they are in the UK.
Its 2 weeks from emailing order to pcb's through my letterbox.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Bend a lead over to make the contact between holes or just blob solder across the holes.
Thats what I do. I don't cut component leads after soldering the component to the board, until I've made as much use of it as possible on the backside of the board to bridge pads. If I need to connect many pads in a row, I just use pieces of leads I've cut previously.

I'll also fold over the end of a hookup wire to the neighboring pad. I just blob it with solder if it's only one pad to another.
 

David Fowler

Joined Feb 11, 2016
25
Strip board is far easier to work with than pad boards. Although I generally don't bother with either, just use solderless board to prototype the circuit, when it's working and I'm happy with it it gets banged into something like Frtizing and the files sent off to China to get the PCBs made up.
 
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