Stamp Turns Messy Breadboards Into Swappable PCB Blocks

Prototyping electronics projects tends to be a messy process. Modules, ICs, and all different types of components connect to breadboards using a jumble of jumper wires. While this setup is fine for the early versions of systems before their final layout can be translated onto a custom PCB, tangled and loose connections can cause a real headache when it comes to troubleshooting even the simplest electronics project. As IC packages shrink, it also becomes increasingly tedious to properly connect surface-mount components onto breadboards, which work best with through-hole and dual-in-line housings.

Stamps can help organize the chaos of breadboard prototyping into neat, modular assemblies. 

A recently closed Kickstarter campaign called Stamp, launched by U.K.-based Sciotronics, aims to remedy this problem through universal modular breakout boards crafted specifically for use with surface-mount devices. Sitting somewhere between breadboards and custom PCBs, Stamp promises to shrink and declutter your future electronics projects.

Meet Stamp: A Modular PCB 'Breadboard'

Stamp is an open-source universal breakout board featuring preconnected pads for wiring surface-mount ICs soldered on the board's top side to two-pin SMD components, such as resistors and capacitors, soldered on its bottom side.

The board comes in ten distinct varieties based on common SMD IC packages, including SOIC, SOP, VSSOP, QFN, and SOT. According to Stamp’s developers, all ten designs have been carefully devised through analyzing hundreds of traditional breakout boards and PCB layouts, which helped define the most commonly used component connectivity patterns. There's even a through-hole stamp that can provide additional prototyping flexibility for components that might not be available in a surface-mount package.

Every Stamp variant has a square shape and features seven castellated holes on each one of its four sides, the middle five of which are extended inwards to accommodate holes for soldering 2.54-mm (0.1-inch) pin headers or jumper wires. This shape is what gives this platform its name, with the castellated holes making individual Stamp boards look like postage stamps.

How Does Stamp Work?

In Stamp's schematics, the inner 20 headers and castellated holes are the ones that break out an IC's pins, while the corner castellated holes serve as a form of signal, ground, or power rail. Every IC pad on Stamp is thus internally connected in a manner that allows engineers to link any pin from the top of the board to one of these four rails on the bottom, either directly by using a solder bridge or through an additional SMD component. 

Each 17.8 mm × 17.8 mm Stamp can support more than 27 components. 

Every Stamp variant includes dedicated pads for up to four more components that can be hooked up to one of the four corner rails. This feature can be particularly useful for indicator LEDs, RC filters, or decoupling capacitors. In contrast to regular breakout boards, a single Stamp can be used to build a complete circuit, albeit a pretty simple one compared to the capabilities of a typical breadboard. Examples of single Stamp boards could include buck and boost converters, sensor and memory modules, or even small microcontroller boards (think STM32F030F4P6 or CH32V003).

As Clean and Intuitive as Lego Bricks

But what if your electronics project is more complex? What if it requires two or three or more surface-mount ICs instead of just one? The developers at Sciotronics have thought about that as well. The shape, size, and modular design pattern of this platform allow engineers to connect multiple Stamps together in a wide range of topologies, either temporarily using pin headers or permanently through soldering.

Because Stamp is modular and reusable, users can break large circuits into small, swappable blocks. In this example, the user is easily swapping out a linear regulator Stamp for a buck converter Stamp—all without needing to redesign a PCB. 

A more complex circuit based on Stamp can take a variety of different shapes, ranging from flat daisy-chained boards to right-angle connections and even complete six-sided cubes. The company's engineering team has demonstrated these possibilities by developing a three-dimensional LED matrix cube made up of six Stamps and an ATtiny-based robot control board made up of four Stamps.

Stamps can also stack on top of one another and other kinds of PCBs. This means that they can serve as a basis for shields and hats that could then be used with development boards such as the Arduino Nano or the Raspberry Pi Pico.

A Successful Start

Stamp concluded its Kickstarter campaign with over £11,373 ($15,438.70), far exceeding its goal of £840 ($1,140.30), thanks to the support of its 235 backers. While the campaign is now over, Sciotronics is accepting late pledges for a limited time while producing its next batch of Stamps. 

A simple, yet effective solution, Stamp has the potential to enable cleaner and faster circuit prototyping in a manner that is much more efficient and far less fragile than regular breadboards or basic breakout boards. 

While its midrange version is currently being priced at around $37 USD for a pack of twenty Stamps, this platform’s open-source aspect means that, pretty soon, engineers may start making their own versions of these boards. If Stamp proves to have merit when working on real-world electronics systems, it could become a much more common sight in the future. 

All images used courtesy of Sciotronics via Kickstarter.