Although making your own circuits and redesigning them to fit into Arduino shields is simple and fun, there will finally come a time when you need to consider making your own shields. And frankly, that's one of the great things about the Arduino platform - you can do it yourself. In doing so you would have to learn one of the PCB design tools and after a few nights lay down what is hopefully the correct layout. However things may change, as there is a new web-based service called circuits.io - an online PCB design tool which allows you to export the gerbers and design files to send off to a PCB factory. One of the founders Karel has created a video demonstrating how to design your own shield, including creating your own part footprints - in the following video:
And there you have it - a process that was once almost out of reach is available to everyone. For more information about circuits.io, click here. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
Although designing your own PCB is fun, if your circuit is easily made up consider building the circuit on a ProtoShield - it makes your project all the more professional, and easier to enclose. We have a range of shieldsincluding basic PCBs, short versions and our ProtoShield Pro with SMD LEDs:
