DIY L'ilBoards.

Method 1: Cutting your own from perfboard.

Photo 1. Here two 1×2 modules were made from scraps of perfboard, IC sockets and little else. The baseboard used here, with 0.2"-spaced holes in the quincunx pattern is generally unavailable, but works perfectly with the system.

Since the hole-to hole space is always an inch or whole multiple, it is easy to “roll your own” boards. Photo 1 shows a pair of home-made boards that were used to provide a test display to assist in the development of the software for the model 5.08 encoder. In this case an eight-bit up/down counter and an 8-bit display were both needed. I chose to make each function a module, however they could have been mounted on a 2×2 section of board together instead.

The general method to use in making a module from perfboard is to drill out the mounting holes then cut to size. This order (drilling before cutting) is im­portant: it is more diff­icult to enlarge a quarter hole than a whole hole! Usually the holes in perfboard are in the order of 50 to 60 thou­sandths of an inch, but you need at least 86/1000" to provide good clear­ance for #4-40 mounting screws. That dimension, which is a #44 bit, is what is used for the standard corner holes and provides a snug “click fit,” if you are using #4-40 hardware. See the drill table on the “best tools” page for details and options. Enlarging holes in soft plastic or fibreglass board is easy: any drill, even an unpowered hand-held one, can do the job. As for cutting, a shear is the cleanest tool to use since you can cut right through the holes easily, though the hack­saw/sand­paper or the sharp knife/snap meth­ods can both be used in a pinch.

As shown in the photo, a printed label stuck on top of the board makes it all look very neat and facilitates easy re-use in later projects.

Method 2: Make your own Li'lBoard modules.

Since the basic outline is an open design and is/will be available for various PCB CAD packages, it is easy to use this mounting system with your own circuits. Generally boards which have the same side length can be panelized together so that the mounting holes are “shared.” This is instead of having the boards milled with the quarter and half holes included in the outline and is cheaper for smaller quantities. The boards can be cut apart using a shear or the knife and snap method mentioned above: using a shear is cleanest.