A Screwduino is an Arduino UNO compatible with easy to connect Screw Terminals. All it takes is a small screwdriver to attach external parts to the Screwduino.

Why did you make it?

We find most of the approaches to Arduino breadboarding annoying. They work OK if you don't know what you want to make and you just want to mess around, but they are painful when you are ready to really make something useful.

We have spent countless hours soldering simple interconnect wires on prototype shields. They give us exactly what we need/want but why do we have to spend time soldering in yet another connector that doesn't do much more than pinout another connector?

Sensor shields are a pretty decent solution since they pin out everything with a power and ground for each signal, but they can get pretty pricey when you add in the cost of the shield and cabling. Plus they get pretty tall till you have a Processor, Sensor Shield and then the vertical wiring above all that.

Then, we saw a screw shield and it looked like the ideal solution for loose wires and builder frustrations. Easy to connect with just a small screwdriver. No connectors to install for simple wiring but no accommodation for I2C connections. The stackup height has less of the same height problems as a sensor shield. The screw shields got us thinking. It's a great idea, but why add the shield? Why not just take an Arduino design and replace the headers/pins with screw terminals?

This result is the Screwduino:

What makes it special?

• Arduino UNO Compatible (Arduino bootloader)
• ICSP header for program download
• Standard 6-pin FTDI connector
• 4-pin I2C connector
• Reset switch
• Other than power regulator only uses through-hole parts
• 5mm pitch screw terminal blocks
• Four (4) 4-40 mounting holes with clearance for screw heads, standoffs and/or nuts
• 7-12V DC on standard 2.1mm DC power connector
• Power selection jumper (FTDI, Regulator, Screw Terminals)