3D Printed Electronics Breadboard

Building your own breadboards can be an intriguing alternative to buying off-the-shelf ones, especially if you enjoy the customization process. As Chuck Hellebuyck illustrates in a recent video on DIY 3D-printed breadboards, creating a breadboard tailored to your specific size requirements offers a unique satisfaction that’s hard to replicate with generic options. The idea sparked when Chuck came across metal breadboard spring clips sold by Kevin Santo Cappuccio, who also provides a 3D-printable shell project for these clips. This allows users to take the CAD model (STEP file) and adjust it to their desired specifications before printing.

Chuck’s approach involved using TinkerCAD for the design, exporting the models to Bambu Lab Studio, and printing on a Bambu Lab A1 Mini FDM printer. Although the first attempt failed due to a slicing issue—where the Bambu Lab slicer didn’t add the necessary inner grid to the first layer—the problem was resolved using a Creality K1 Max printer. The issue was traced back to the ‘wall generator’ setting in the Bambu Lab slicer being set to ‘Classic’ instead of ‘Arachne,’ which affects line width and, consequently, print quality. Once this was addressed, the prints fit well onto the spring clips, which Chuck had soldered onto a prototyping board.

A notable advantage of these DIY breadboards is the ability to include functional or aesthetic features, such as space under the spring clips for SMD LEDs, enabling custom lighting effects when paired with a PCB. While these bespoke breadboards can be very convenient for specific applications, such as small add-on cards, they likely won’t replace generic breadboards for quick prototyping tasks. However, the potential to add custom features like mounting points for binding posts, switches, or potentiometers makes them an appealing option for those looking to create tailored solutions for specific electronic projects.

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