Maker Shed exclusive: The MakerShield

Arduino
Maker Shed exclusive: The MakerShield
MSMS01-2.jpg

Introducing the MakerShield kit – The ultimate open source prototyping shield for Arduino and Netduino microcontrollers. Having a prototyping shield is a must have accessory for anyone wanting to go beyond blinking an LED with their microcontroller. If you want to do more, you will need to build a circuit, and if you want to build circuit, you will want a prototyping shield like the MakerShield.

MakerShield’s unique features:

  • User definable components
  • Includes a Potentiometer, button, and (2) LEDs (needed in most circuits)
  • 3.3v & 5v compliant
  • ICSP header in the same location as the Arduino boards
  • Power filtering capacitors on 5v and 3.3v lines

Note: If you are just getting started with Arduino, the MakerShield is also available in our new Projects Pack for Arduino kit, another Maker Shed exclusive. It’s a great way to pick up an Arduino UNO, along with a ton of other very useful components!

img_2999.jpg

If you want to learn even more about the MakerShield, be sure to check out our step-by-step guide on building your own MakerShield.

20 thoughts on “Maker Shed exclusive: The MakerShield

  1. volkemon says:

    Looks absolutely fantastic… except for the Potentiometer-
    WHY does it stand so tall? I see stackable headers, but that big blue tower looks like a stopper :|

    I guess I will have to peruse the Step by Step guide to look for guidance. Hmmmm…

    *ASIDE*

    THANKS again to the site improvement that has enabled a ‘preview’ in the comments. Please pass thanks on to parties responsible :)

    1. Marc de Vinck says:

      Good eyes! You are correct…sort of!

      The potentiometer does stick up too high to stack full-size shields. As you can see in this picture.

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/wurx/5209384255/in/set-72157622726130740/

      You can easily, and non-destructively, “pop” off the knob of the potentiometer, making the whole shield 100% stackable! Cool, right? I took a quick pic:

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/wurx/5210624830/in/set-72157622726130740/

      I like the height of this potentiometer when using the shield in a non-stacking layout, and thought this was a cool solution. Just pop it back on when needed (and it’s usable without the knob)

      Picking a potentiometer was one of the difficult parts of the design process! I really tried to think of everything when designing this board. I hope you like it, and I really hope it adds value to the OSHW community. More to come!

      1. volkemon says:

        I was already thinking of extending the leads and making the Potentiometer ‘lay down’.

        But thanks for the add’l pics to show how the knob comes off. Much clearer.

        1. Marc de Vinck says:

          No problem. There is so much to explain on this shield. I plan on doing a video walk-through soon.

  2. Samroesch says:

    Nice work on the board. Looking at the photos in the makerstore, it looks like there are traces going into the prototyping area, what are those doing?

    1. Marc de Vinck says:

      Thanks! The traces you see are just routing through to the LEDs, etc. The only areas “connected” in the prototyping area are highlighted in white (a 5v rail on the bottom & a GND rail at the top)

      I thought about making some rails in the filed of the protoyping area for IC’s, but I thought allowing the end user to decide would be better. It’s easy to bridge some pins. It also allows you to orient smaller IC’s any way you want!

  3. Samroesch says:

    Also, the eagle files in the MakerShed are broken I think.

    1. Marc de Vinck says:

      For some odd reason, our e*commerce system isn’t playing nice with the linked files. Please (right) click and do a “save link as”. I just tried it, and it works fine.

      I’ll update the product page now, and most likely use a 3rd party system of managing code in the future. (any suggestions?)

      1. Matt Mets says:

        The makezine Google Code repository!

        https://code.google.com/p/makezine/

  4. Collin Cunningham says:

    Sweet board – well done, Marc!

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK