This solder pad shield is a simple PCB that facilitates deploying Arduino UNO and compatible development boards in permanent installations. Development boards are amazing tools for designing circuits of all types, but they aren't ideal tools for reliable installation in the field.

I've designed and installed electronic systems based on the Arduino and connecting I/O devices in a reliable way has not been easy. The headers are designed for Dupont wires which work well in testing and prototyping applications, but not for permanent connections.

I designed the board in KiCad and had sent the files to a professional fabricating company. I tried to keep the design within the same footprint as the dev boards so that it can fit in some of the larger prefabricated cases designed for the UNO. The pinout is labeled on the silk screen layer to make the solder pads easy to match up to the GPIOs. I included a few extra pads that are connected to the 5V and Ground pins for suppling voltage to external I/O devices.

The boards ship with the male header pins but I leave the soldering of those pins to you because it would add to the cost of the board if I had to do it, and I expect you'd be happy to do a few minutes of soldering to save a couple of bucks.