Breadboard Design

The following video delves into the basics of breadboard design.

Here is a roadmap of the 'big picture' steps of the Breadboard Design process:

Select physical components
Wire physical connections
Drive the system with power

Breadboard Demo - Video Tutorial

This tailor-made video provides a guided walkthrough of the Breadboard Design process.

'Breadboard Design' Section Deliverable

After following along with either the video above or the guided walkthrough below, you should have a breadboard that looks like the following:

Selecting the Physical Components

Wiring the Physical Connections

Need a Refresher on Breadboard Basics?

What is a breadboard?

A perforated board with internal metal strips that allow you to connect various electronic components. You’ll find long rows of holes, called “strips.” Each breadboard has two types of “strips” – bus strips and terminal strips. Bus strips allow you to connect the board and its electronic components to a power source. Terminal strips allow you to plug various electronic components in and connect them to each other.

Each horizontal row on one terminal strip is connected – meaning that anything you plug in on that row will be electrically connected to anything else plugged in on that row. Additionally, there are no vertical connections on a terminal strip. Horizontal rows on either side of the center groove are also not connected to each other.

What are the different types of connections?

Components Connected in Series:

As depicted above, current has one path of travel and is therefore equivalent at all areas within this circuit.

Components Connected in Parallel

As depicted above, current has multiple paths of travel. That said, all of the voltage measured across each component must be electrically equivalent to the voltage drop of the battery.

Driving the System with Power

To Do List:

Figure out how to wire the battery in the context of a breadboard (no access to Waveforms).
Find wires to connect components
Troubleshoot the button situation?
Once finished with breadboard, take it out and document the process with pictures.
Once documented, make a video walkthrough of wiring the breadboard based on the schematic (with tips and tricks)
Add a collapsible breadboard basics tab to this section with information about how a breadboard works: vertical busbars, positive and negative buses, wiring in parallel and series, etc.

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