Mechanical Breadboard &

Modular Construction Systems

In electronics, a "breadboard" is a generic construction base for projects. By extension, a "Mechanical Breadboard" is the same for mechanical construction projects. There have been several commercial mechanical breadboard systems, but none is or has been common. This topic overlaps constructively (no pun intended) with modular construction systems and construction toys (for which see the CircuitousRoot Notebook on Construction Toys). (A good argument can be made that Meccano is the most successful mechanical breadboarding sytem ever.)

I find this topic endlessly fascinating (probably because as a child I really wanted the American knockoff of Meccano, Erector, and never got it). But as I've come to need such a mechanical breadboarding or modular mechanical construction system in my own hobby projects I have decided that no existing system quite fit my needs and desires. These Notebooks first briefly list all of the systems of which I am aware and then document a very simple system that I've developed for my own use. (You're welcome to use it too, if you'd like, but I don't think that it is good enough to promote.)

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A Brief Survey

There have been more Mechanical Breadboard systems than you might think, and many more Modular Construction systems (especially since it is fair to include toys such as Meccano).

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The CR MB and MC System

This is the definition of the Mechanical Breadboard and Modular Construction system that I hope to use in my own shop. At present, calling it a system may be too grand. Right now it is just a convention for hole spacing.