I/O Breakout

Arduino shields are an easy way to quickly test a project or prototype, but they have a big problem. Shields stack up vertically, which isn’t very useful if you want to mount your project inside a box or case, or to make a control panel.

While working on projects for SuperHouse, I often found that I wanted to mount different parts of the project inside a case so that they could be accessed from the outside. To do that I started using IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector) headers and cables, so that I could link parts together inside the case.

Eventually I settled on a standard pinout for the headers so that I could make interchangable modules or breakouts. The “I/O Breakout” header provides:

• 8 data lines (either analog or digital)
• GND
• IOREF (typically either 3.3V or 5V)
• VIN (the input voltage to the host board)
• RESET (connected to reset on the host board)

The header is a 12-way, 0.1″ pitch IDC header, which typically uses a shrouded header to ensure that cables can only be plugged in the right way around. The standard header pinout looks like this:

I designed shields for both the regular (Uno-style) and mega Arduino sizes, so that I could simply plug in a shield, plug in an IDC cable, and be ready to go.

The I/O Breakout Shield provides breakouts for sets of I/O lines including A0-A5, D0-D7, and D8-D13 + SCL/SDA:

The I/O Breakout Shield Mega provides many more breakouts, for A0-A7, A8-A15, D0-D7, D8-D15, D16-D23, D24-D31, D32-D39, and D40-D47:

I also designed a variety of modules that can be connected to the shields. The I/O Breakout 96-Point Prototyping Board is a simple prototyping module that provides a general purpose prototyping area with breakouts for the I/O lines:

The I/O Breakout Screw Terminals is a very simple converter that provides all the I/O lines as screw terminals for you to connect wires for your project:

Then we get to the more interesting breakouts! For example, the I/O Breakout To Security Sensors allows you to connect up to 8 security sensors to the analog inputs of your Arduino, so that it can detect things like motion from motion detectors but also detect if the wires have been short-circuited or cut. This is essential for maintaining the integrity of cables to security sensors, and it’s often called “end-of-line” sensing. This breakout also supplies power to the sensors down the cable. By connecting two of these breakouts to the I/O Breakout Mega shield, you can make your own 16-zone security system powered by an Arduino Mega:

The I/O Breakout To RJ45 provides a set of 4 RJ45 sockets, each of which includes 4 data lines, 2 GND lines, and 2 power lines. The power lines can be linked to either IOREF or VIN of the host Arduino board, and both GND and power use the same pairs as common DIY power over ethernet. I specifically designed this breakout so that I could use Ethernet cables to connect my light switches to my home automation system. It doesn’t actually use Ethernet connections, just the cables, because they’re cheap and easy to make:

You can control things, too. The I/O Breakout 8 Channel Relay Driver can control up to 8 external relays, which is great for home automation projects. I designed this to control the DIN-rail mounted relays in my switchboards, so that an Arduino can control all the lights in my house. A typical use is to drive relays with 12V coils using either a 3.3V or 5V Arduino:

Over time I’ll probably design more modules using the same I/O breakout headers. I’ve found they’re a great way to quickly assemble a project in the shape that I want it, without being limited by the vertical stack of normal shields.