The 'Poduino Case'. A protective case for your Arduino (with breadboard work area):

I just received my Arduino Duemilanove and breadboard today. After some careful thought, I realized there is no way this thing could possibly survive daily life on my desk. I saw some great Instructables on plastic cases, and even one that used an iPod Nano case. However, I have little plastic-working abilities, and I'm cheap. I didn't want to spend any more money...

So... I found my iPod Touch case. Perfect.

Step 1: The Parts

Parts list:
Arduino (or compatible)
270 point breadboard
iPod Touch case
Rubber band
Double-sided tape

Tools:
(what I used)
Ginsu knife
Needle nose pliers
Side cutters
Nail clippers
Carbide scribe
File

(what I suggest you use)
Rotary tool (Dremel)
Needle nose pliers
Non-permanent marker
File

Step 2: The Layout

I laid the Arduino board next to the breadboard and placed the iPod case on top to get an idea of how much cutting I'd have to do. Luckily, the Arduino board didn't really need any modification. The breadboard, on the other hand, needed some surgery. In order to get the measurements just right, I had to cut the openings for the USB and power in the case and lay the Arduino board in there.

Step 3: Cut Stuff

Time to cut. Lay the board in the case. Put the USB port against the edge. Center the board between the two rounded edges. Mark the locations of the USB port and power socket on the plastic, being sure that the board stays centered. Cut the notches. If you're really good, you can leave the top lip of the case intact. I didn't have a Dremel or the patience to do it, so I just cut down into it with the side cutters. Seems to work fine.

Note to self-
Self, clean your fingernails. The whole internet is watching.

Step 4: Trim the Fat

There's a lot of material that we can remove on this particular breadboard (and most others). I peeled back the plastic sticker on the bottom to see how much I could take, and from where. I also had to round two of the corners to fit the contour of the case.
Cut away plastic until it fits right. Just don't cut too close to the tiepoint holes.
Test-fit the Arduino board and the breadboard. They shouldn't fit too tight. You don't want to deform the case or the lid will never stay on.

Step 5: Stick-it

WOO! It fits! And it looks comfortable there, too.
Now it's time to stick-em.
The Arduino board has leads sticking through the board... We need to stand it off the bottom so we can stick it.
Take some scraps of plastic (use pieces of the plastic insert) and cut them to fit areas of the board that have no leads sticking out. Place some tape there. Stick the pieces of plastic to the double-tape. Add another layer of tape. Then carefully align the board in the case. Press gently, but firmly.
The breadboard is flat on the bottom, so it needs no standoffs. Just single layers of double-tape will do.

Step 6: Finish...

That's it. Put the cover on, and wrap a rubber band around it to hold it closed when not in use.
You can store jumper wires in a little zip-lock baggie in it, as well as some basic components and spare Atmel chips. Also, some shields might be able to be mounted and left on the board while closed (although I am not sure as I don't have any shields to test that with yet... ;-)
Thank you for viewing my Instructable! Please comment!