Stripboards
Stripboard is also known as Veroboard is an electronics prototyping board with a rectangular grid of holes with a 2.54 mm pitch. One side of the board is plain, the other side has strips of copper cladding, isolated from one another. The leads or solder pins of electrical components are inserted through the holes and soldered underneath to the copper strips to form an electrical circuit.
How is Stripboard Used?
Electrical components are placed on the plain side of the stripboard and the leads are threaded through the holes. These components can be individual wires or connectors that have a suitable pin spacing. The leads of the components are then soldered to the copper tracks that are underneath the board to form an electrical connection. Components soldered to the same copper strip are in electrical contact with one another, to create separate circuits the copper strip can be cut.
Cutting the copper strips stops the current flow between groups of components and prevents shorting. Using a stripboard enables reliable and complex assemblies to be built. Stripboard is used for creating small circuits and is ideal for use in development and prototyping work.
Single and Double-Sided Stripboard
Stripboard usually has copper strips on one side and is known as single-sided stripboard. Stripboard is also available with copper strips on both sides and is known as double-sided stripboard. The advantages of a double-sided board are that you can make connections between components on the front and back of the board.
Materials
The stripboard base is made from an FR graded material. FR-1 and FR-2 graded boards are made from SRBP (synthetic resin bonded paper). This material is commonly known as phenolic board FR-4 graded boards are made from fiberglass-reinforced epoxy laminate which is a higher-grade material. FR-4 is the most frequently used material in the construction of PCBs. The copper strips can vary in terms of thickness. Thin copper layers are easily damaged when soldering and not be suitable for high current applications.
Advantages of Stripboard
- Creates a robust permanent circuit with reliable connections.
- Easy to use, copper strips can be simply cut to size to form customised circuits.
- No special preparation before use such as extra wires or solder trace.
- Eliminates the need for separate terminal pins.