Breadboard Projects for Engineering Students

Engineering is an application of various technologies & fields such as designing, innovating, maintaining, creating, controlling, and so on. There are various streams in engineering such as electrical and electronics engineering, electronics and communication engineering, computer science engineering, information technology, and so on. The project work for engineering students helps to implement their theoretical knowledge practically in developing engineering projects. The project work for EEE & ECE students may include performing electronic experiments. Thus, we recommend students start with these simple projects on the breadboard which are capable of working for them on their first attempt itself. But, beginners should know how to use a breadboard to build a simple electronic project before proceeding with these simple projects. In this article, let us discuss the top 10 breadboard projects for engineering students.

Simple Breadboard Projects for Engineering Students

It is always a difficult task to perform electronic experiments, physically and economically as well. Electronic experiments comprise the soldering of components to design electronic circuits that are not economical and also dangerous in case of a fault in designing circuits. So, breadboard projects are the most economical and easy to check the working of various circuits without soldering the components on the PCB. Hence, these can be called as solderless breadboard projects which can be implemented by connecting various electrical and electronics components on a breadboard using connecting wires. Top 10 Breadboard Projects for Engineering Students can be listed as

Please refer to this link to know about: A Brief on Breadboard Basics and Connections

Please refer to this link to know about: Steps to Building a Project on Breadboard Circuit

• Night light sensor
• Overhead Water Tank Level Indicator
• Fire Alarm System
• LED Dimmer
• Police Siren
• Touch Point-based Calling Bell
• Automatic Toilet Delay Lighting
• Kitchen Timer
• Police Lights
• Smart Fan, etc

Police Siren

The device used for making a typical louder sound in order to alert and/or attract persons or vehicles is termed as a siren. Generally, the siren is used by vehicles such as ambulances, police vehicles, fire vehicles, and VIP vehicles.

 Not only for vehicles but the siren is also used in many industries, companies, mills, and so on to alert the employees or staff regarding the duty timings.

This breadboard project is a simple and interesting circuit for generating police siren sound using two 555 timers and speakers. To generate a siren with a frequency around 1KHz an 8Ohm speaker is connected with 555 timers (one 555 timers are connected in astable mode and the other 555 timers are connected in the monostable mode for achieving the desired frequency) as shown in the block diagram. The siren sound frequency can be adjusted using the knob in the circuit to match the police siren sound.

Kitchen Timer

Breadboard projects for engineering students are simple electronics projects in which the kitchen timer is an innovative breadboard circuit.

The kitchen timer device helps in perfect cooking with accurate timings, for instance, accurate boiling of eggs.

The kitchen timer circuit block diagram consists of two LEDs, a transistor, 555 timer IC which are connected as shown in the figure. The 555 timers are connected in monostable mode used for triggering the first LED which starts an adjustable time period. After completing this time period the second LED will glow. The time period can be adjusted using a preset resistor.

Police Lights

The flashing lights are also typically used by vehicles such as police jeeps, ambulances, fire vehicles, and VIP vehicles.

The usage of flashing lights is also similar to the siren sound, i.e., for attracting and alerting the people or other vehicles. The police lights project is implemented using a simple electronics circuit consisting of two LEDs of different colors.

In general, red and blue colors are used by police vehicles that are capable of solid lighting to attract or alert even from long distances. A 555 timer IC, decade counter, LEDs are used in the project. The decade counter and 555 timers switch the LEDs ON and OFF simultaneously at a high speed for very bright lighting.

Overhead Water Tank Level Indicator

In our day-to-day, typically we observe the overflow of water from the overhead tank which happens due to lack of maintenance.

 It is a difficult task to track the water level of the overhead tank. So, this overhead water tank level indicator is the perfect solution for the water overflow & wastage problem, which indicates the level of water in the overhead tank.

This breadboard project utilizes water sensors, resistors, and three NPN transistors and LEDs. The insulated copper cables act as water sensors for analyzing the water level in the tank and the LEDs are switched ON correspondingly to indicate the water level.

Automatic Toilet Delay Lighting

The breadboard projects are very simple which can be used for designing electronic circuits used in our daily life.

This project is designed for developing a time delay based switch for controlling any load.

The LED can be turned ON or OFF for a fixed duration using 555 timer IC connected in monostable mode. Thus, the LED turns ON for a few seconds (time period can be increased based on requirement using the adjustable timer) and turns OFF after a predefined time duration.

There are more breadboard projects such as Touch Point-based Calling Bell, Buzzer based Thermometer for Body Temperature, Discotheque Flashing Light, and so on.

The list of Breadboard based Simple Electronic Projects is discussed below. These breadboard projects are very helpful for beginners in engineering.

Prevention of Dengue

Mosquitoes are the most frustrating insects and cause many diseases to humans by drinking blood from human beings, animals, etc. The diseases are dengue, chicken gunya, and malaria, etc.

There are various types of mosquito repellents available in the market such as spray, cream, repellent clothes, and repellent machines. Here sprayed repellents can cause environmental pollution by spreading the chemicals into the air. These kinds of repellents are very harmful to human beings as well as infant babies.

This circuit removes air pollution by eliminating the gaseous elements into the environment. This circuit is built with an astable 4047 IC timer. These timers will generate a 1-2khz frequency which can be changed by an adjustable preset. Finally, it drives a buzzer and generates an irritating sound for mosquitos to fly from the surrounding area.

Door Bell Activated  by Foot Step

The doorbell is an electronic device that is used to give an alert to the household when the person visits their house. The proposed system is designed cleverly and gives an alert to the household when the person knocks the door of their house. When the person hit the door, then the piezo sensor receives the sound and alters into an electrical signal which is connected to the main door This signal triggers the IC 555 timer in the monostable mode.

The IC 555 timer, in turn, triggers a melody generator through a speaker. The time for the melody sound to be triggered can be fixed using an adjustable RC time constant. Furthermore, the proposed system can be developed with some innovative features.

Speed Control of a Motor in Toy

This project is used to control the speed of a motor in the toy. In this project, a BLDC motor is used and the speed of the motor can be controlled by using an RC time constant by changing the resistance using a preset which is adjustable. The applications of the BLDC motor mainly used in industries like in lathes, drilling, spinning, electric bikes, elevators,  etc. The DC motor speed control is very essential. This project gives an effective and precise speed control system.

The speed of the motor can be controlled based on the principle of PWM  The designing of this circuit can be done by using an IC 555 timer in an astable mode where the PWM can be adjusted by the RC time constant. This modulation can be done by simplifying changing the resistance.

The % of the desired speed, speed can be fixed by using an adjustable pot offered in the above circuit. The IC 555 timer carries the desired pulse width to routinely adjust the DC power to the BLDC motor for the required speed. The motor in the toy is driven by two NPN transistors which are coupled in the form of a Darlington pair. Thus avoiding the MOSFET usage are expensive.

Smart Security Reminder

Alarms are used in security systems and also in the event of any emergency or expected situations. This proposed system is used as a smart security reminder, which will trigger in the event of any security break.

The concept of this project is based on an event of a door opened for more than 30sec. But, the authorized person knows that they have to close the door in the 30 seconds limit time, then there will be no event for activation of an alarm.

When the door is opened for a long time, then the alarm will automatically activate and continuously gives beep sound. In the above circuit, a switch is fixed to press down for a specific time then it starts beeping sound. A buzzer is used to give an alert. The circuit is built with a capacitor and a NAND gate which will automatically charge & discharge to provide a beep sound.

The list of basic electronic Mini Projects using Breadboard is discussed below. These advanced breadboard projects are very simple to make using a breadboard. So these simple breadboard circuit projects are very useful for beginners as well as engineering students to do their mini project work.

Police Siren Project

Please refer to this link to know more about this project: Police Siren Circuit Working Using NE555 Timer and Applications.

Touch Point-Based Calling Bell

Please refer to this link to know more about this touchpoint based calling bell and rain alarm circuit: Simple Electronics Circuits

Flashing LED using Transistor

A simple flashing LED circuit can be designed with basic components like resistors, capacitors, transistors, LEDs. The connections of this circuit can be made using a breadboard with the help of a power source and jumper wires.

The required components of this circuit are PNP transistors-2, 470 Ohms resistors-2, 100 Kilo Ohms resistors-2, LEDs-2, 10 uF capacitors-2, jumper wires & a breadboard.

Place the components on a breadboard and give the connections based on the circuit diagram. Give the supply to the circuit using a 9V battery and check whether the LEDs are blinking or not. If the LEDs are blinking then the circuit is okay otherwise need to check the connections once again.

Smart Fan Project

This simple breadboard project is used to design a cooling system to control a DC fan in an easy way by using simple components. This fan works once the temperature reaches a specified threshold value.
The required components are 5V DC fan, NTC thermistor-1 kilo-ohm, IC LM358, LM555 Timer, NPN Transistor (BC337), diode 1N4007, Resistors like 10k ohm-2 , 4.7k ohm-2 , 470 ohms -3 & 5k ohm-1, variable resistors 100k ohm & 500k ohm, capacitors 0.1 uF & 200 uF, LEDs, connecting wires, 5V battery and test board.

The controlling of the DC fan can be done through a Thermistor. The thermistor is one kind of resistor and its resistance mainly depends on temperature. These are two types like NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) and PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient).

When NTC is used, the temperature increases then the resistance will be decreased. Similarly, when PTC is used, the temperature increases then resistance will be increased.

Clap Triggered LED

This circuit is also known as a clap switch. To know more about this circuit and its work please refer to this link: Clap Switch: Circuit Diagram, Working, and Its Working

Night Light Sensor

Please refer to this link to know more about Simple Light Sensor Circuit with Applications

Water Level Indicator Project using Breadboard

This water level indicator project is a very simple circuit to design on a breadboard. This project is mainly used for indicating the level of water within a tank. The required components to design this project is BC547 transistors-4, 220 ohm resistors-6, LEDs-3, Buzzer-1, and 9Volts battery.

Once the water tank gets filled, then we can get alerts on each level. In this project, there are four levels in the water tank like low level, medium level, high level, and full level. For the first three levels, three-color LEDs are used to specify the water level. For the fourth level, a buzzer is used to specify the full level of water. Once the eater tank is filled then a buzzer sound can be generated.

Whenever the water level in the tank reaches point A, then Red color LED will glow, it reaches to point B, then the yellow color LED, it reaches point C, then the green color LED, and finally buzzer sound can be generated once it reaches to full level.

Breadboard projects using 555 timers are discussed below.

LED Chaser with 4017

This LED chaser circuit using 4017 can be designed by using a breadboard. By using this circuit, the chasing rate of LED can be adjusted with a potentiometer instead of using a 47K resistor. The required components of this circuit are 555 timers IC, CD 4017 IC, LEDs, Resistors like 470R, 1K & 47K, 1uF capacitor, breadboard, and 5 to 15 volts supply.

The IC like 555 timers are used in the astable mode which means the output of this IC changes continuously between high to low supply voltages. For instance, if an LED is connected between 555 timers and the ground, then the LED will blink continuously.

The output of the 555 timer IC is connected to the CLK input of a decade counter. This IC includes ten output pins where each output is connected to an LED. Once the first output pin is ON, then remaining all will be turned OFF.

Every time the CLK input pin of the decade counter detects an increase in voltage, then the present output will turn OFF & the next sequential output will be turned ON. This exchange of outputs will look like the chasing of LEDs with each other.

Switch Circuit Controlled through IR

This breadboard project is mainly used to turn ON & OFF an electrical appliance with the help of a TV remote. Here a sensor IC like TSOP 1738 is used to transmit the signals and the output if this IC is high when it is not interrupted with any signal, so this will make the transistor OFF.

If a signal including 38 Kilohertz frequency falls on the sensor IC, then its output will become very low so this will make the transistor ON therefore it transmits a negative signal to the timer IC which acts like a monostable multivibrator.

Alarm Circuit for an Intruder

This simple breadboard project is designed with a 555 timer circuit for generating an alarm when an intruder moves close to the circuit. This simple circuit can be arranged on home buildings for security purposes. In this circuit, an LDR plays a key role to detect the change within the light because of the indication of the intruder. The output of this circuit can be given to an op-amp based comparator circuit.

Dual LED Flasher

This simple project is used to design a dual led flasher to flash two LEDs in 500ms of interval time. This circuit can be built with 555 timers IC & other basic components on a breadboard. In this simple project, the IC like 555 timers are used in Astable mode so that the output can fluctuate continuously from high level to low until we turn off the supply.

The required components used in this circuit are breadboard, IC 555, 100 µF capacitor-1, resistors like 270, 1k, 10k, 1N4007 diodes-2, 6V supply, and connectors for breadboard. The adjustment of the LED flashing rate can be done by changing the resistor or capacitor values

IR Remote Tester

This is a simple receiver circuit based on IR & TSOP1738 IC. This circuit is also called a remote tester. This circuit is used to turn ON LED once any button over the IR remote is pressed. The IC TSOP1738 is used to demodulate the signals which are obtained from the remote control & generates an output inactive low form.

The required components of this project are TSOP 1738 IC, LED, 470 to1000 ohms resistor, 10 to 100 micro-farads capacitor, power supply from 5V to 6V, and a breadboard. This circuit is used to turn ON an LED strip close to a TV. Whenever we push a button on the IR remote then LED will glow. By using this circuit, devices can be controlled using IR signals.

555 Timer IC-based Touch ON/OFF Switch

This simple project is used to design a touch ON/OFF switch with 555 timers on a breadboard. This simple project includes a set of touch conductors where one of the touching conductor pairs will activate the LED and the remaining touching conductor will turn off the LED.

The required components used in this circuit are 555 timers IC, 6V DC, LED, Resistor- 270 Ohms, connectors for breadboard, conductors, or touch probes.

This circuit can be modified to touch the alarm by changing the resistor & LED using a buzzer. The controlling of high load devices can be done by connecting the 555 timer IC’s output to a relay. This circuit generates a maximum output current about 200mA. The power consumed by the components like motors, LEDs is less than 200mA. So it can be connected directly to the o/p of the 555 timer IC.

Thus, this is all about an overview of simple breadboard projects for beginners and engineering students. We hope that you have got a better understanding of this concept. Are you keen to build solder-less breadboard simple electronic projects or any technical assistance? please give your suggestions by commenting in the comment section below.