Build a Homemade Breadboard Using Paperclips, Cardboard, and a Little Bit of Glue

It’s not uncommon for engineers to MacGyver part of a project when in a pinch, or in some cases, the tools used to build those projects. Case in point- keystoner’s Homemade Breadboard, which he created out of materials that can be found in most everyone’s home — cardboard and paperclips. The board is part of keystoner’s “Papercliptronics” platform, which uses paperclip crimping instead of solder for circuit design.

As the name implies, the Homemade Breadboard was designed using 10 large paperclips that serve as the rails (top, bottom, and middle), each with their ends bent into 900 angles, and inserted into a cardboard base and glued into place. Layers of duct tape and glue on the opposite side of the cardboard prevent movement of the rails and protect against injury cover the bent ends.

Smaller paperclips with crimped ends are used to connect a power source (in this case, D batteries) at both the positive and negative rails, while crimped clips bring that power to the center rails. Those small paperclips are also used to tie in all the necessary electronics (resistors, transistors, capacitors, etc.) to build the circuit, although keystoner states copper wire can be used as well. He even offers two different crimping methods for securing the electronics to the board — the first uses a single hook loop, allowing for quick placement, while the other uses a double for a more stable solution.

To demonstrate the functionality of his Homemade Breadboard, keystoner designed several easy projects anyone can make — including an LED light circuit, a light detector, water detector, and several others. keystoner uploaded a complete walkthrough of his Papercliptronic breadboard for those interested in replicating his design.