Ordering Information (Updated Feb., 2012): Minimum order is now $10 (not including shipping costs); maximum order is $100.
Orders below $10 or above $100 will be automatically refunded.
International shipping is available. Shipments to the United States, Canada, or Mexico are trackable and insured.
Shipments to all other countries are not trackable, and are also not insured.
ProtoFlex Shield for PICAXE and/or Arduino Shield Bases
Mates with the AXE401 PICAXE-28X2 Shield Base or any standard Arduino Shield Base: $8.95 each (Bare Board)
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| A Bare ProtoFlex Shield |
The ProtoFlex shield is designed for use with the PICAXE-28X2 Shield Base (#AXE401) and/or the standard Arduino shield base. As you can see in the above photo of a bare ProtoFlex shield, the labeling of the various power and ground connections is self-explanatory, but the labels on all the other I/O connections require some explanation (especially for Arduino users who may not be familiar with the PICAXE pin-naming conventions). Each I/O connection has two different labels; the PICAXE labels are at the extreme left and right edges of the ProtoFlex, and the Arduino labels are slightly in-board on each side. Arduino users will be familiar with the location of the 6 analog inputs and the 14 digital lines, but of course, the “S.” prefixes will be a mystery. Those prefixes enable PICAXE users to access each I/O line in two different ways; Arduino users can just ignore the prefixes entirely. Finally, because of the size of the ProtoFlex Shield (3.3 inches square), there was enough room to duplicate 14 of the standard 28 connecting points on a PICAXE or Arduino shield base. This arrangement provides a considerable amount of flexibility in the layout of your circuit components.
An Important Note
Before we go any further, I need to explain something about the photos on this page. Except for the above photo (which shows the final ProtoFlex PC board), all the other photos on the page are of an earlier prototype version of the final board. The differences are minor, but I want to be sure that they are clear. First, the prototype was named “VersaShield,” and I decided to change the name to “ProtoFlex” for the production version of the board. Second, in the final version, I moved the four mounting holes slightly to provide easier access. (This change probably doesn’t matter at all, because you’re not likely to mount the ProtoFlex to anything anyway!) Third, I also slightly lowered the top two headers (the 6-pin on the left and the 8-pin on the right) to provide a little more space for the mounting holes. Finally, in all the “VersaShield” photos that follow, you can see that the four corners of the board are slightly chamfered. That’s because I sanded the corners that way – the board itself is square. If you purchase a ProtoFlex shield and want to do the same thing, there are guidelines on the back of the board that can be used for sanding.
The ProtoFlex is a very flexible prototyping shield (hence, the name!) that can be used to implement at least four different types of circuits:
Circuits that are Hard-Wired (Soldered in Place)
Custom I/O circuits can be directly soldered in place in the main prototyping area (which is laid-out similarly to a standard breadboard), and easily connected to the desired PICAXE or Arduino I/O pins. In the photo below, you can see the tops of the male pin headers that are installed on the bottom of the ProtoFlex, and mate with the female headers on the PICAXE and/or Arduino Shield Base. As you can also see in the photo (just to the right of the reset switch), you can install a three-pin header (or hardwire the appropriate connection) to select either 3.3V or 5.0V as the +V supply to the prototyping area.
If the ProtoFlex is being used for hard-wired circuits, the female headers in the photo are not needed. (I later installed a breadboard on the shield in the photo, and didn’t want to solder male headers on a second shield just to show where they are installed!) However, even with the female headers soldered in place, you can see the duplicate connecting points (just inboard of each column of female headers) that can be used for your hard-wired connections.
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| ProtoFlex Configured for Hard-Wired Circuits |
Circuits that are Implemented on a 170-Point Breadboard
A small (170-point) breadboard can be installed on the ProtoFlex for rapid prototyping and circuit testing. Of course, many currently available ProtoShields provide the same capability, but that's about all they can do. However, as you continue reading, you’ll soon discover that the ProtoFlex is also capable of much more than that! If you do install a 170-point breadboard, you will probably want to install the female headers as shown in the photo, so that jumper wires can easily be used to connect to your processor’s I/O pins. Also, if you look closely at the photo, you will see that the ten pins in the row directly above the breadboard are all +V connections, and the ten pins in the row directly below the breadboard are all ground connections. You can easily add additional female headers at these points to increase the flexibility of your power and ground connections to the breadboard.
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| ProtoFlex with a 170-Point Breadboard Installed |
Circuits that Contain Both Hard-Wired and Breadboarded Elements
As you can see in the above photo, even with a 170-point breadboard in place, there is still a sizable prototyping area available on the ProtoFlex, so it's easy to combine hard-wired and breadboard circuits on the same shield.
Circuits that are Implemented on a 400-Point Breadboard
The PICAXE-28X2 and Arduino processors are both very powerful microcontrollers with many I/O lines, so a 170-point breadboard can sometimes be a major limiting factor in the prototyping of PICAXE or Arduino projects. I’ve done a fair amount of searching on the web, and I think that the ProtoFlex board is the first PICAXE/Arduino Shield that's capable of accommodating a 400-point breadboard, as shown in the following photo. This capability greatly increases the scope and complexity of the projects you can implement on the ProtoFlex Shield.
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| ProtoFlex with a 400-Point Breadboard Installed |
The width of a 400-point breadboard is greater than the span of the I/O headers on the PICAXE and Arduino shield bases, so the breadboard has to be mounted on top of the male headers that mate with the shield base. As a result, the process of installing a 400-point breadboard on the ProtoFlex is more complicated than any of the other three configurations discussed above. If you are interested in how it can be done, step-by-step instructions are given on the ProtoFlex-400 page.