user20946: I am undergoing a BSc (Hons) Degree in Computer Science and working on an Arduino project.
I am using the Arduino Mega and even though this microprocessor has plenty of input and output pins I am running out.
In the event that there are no more I/O pins available for me to make use of, and I am also referring to both analog and digital pins, is it possible to increase them?
I did some research, however the solutions are too vague... One of the suggestions was to use one or more of the following: 74HC595 8-Bit Shift Register DIP-16.

I am good at coding however when it comes to hardware sometimes I'll need some push.
Thanks a lot.

user20245: You can either use external hardware or communicate to a 2nd Arduino and control the 2nd Arduino's digital and analog ports.  Being good at coding would suggest you would prefer communicating to a 2nd Arduino.  Also, most hardware solutions only add digital pins, not analog pins.

user11174: You could use an MCP23017 port expander to get 16 more pins. It communicates via I2C. The pins can be set as inputs, outputs, or inputs with pullups.
Adafruit has a library for the expander: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-MCP23017-Arduino-Library
This is the datasheet: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/21952b.pdf
As an alternate solution, you could just add another Arduino Mega to your project, and have them both communicate via serial. You could set up state machines on each one (like in Mr. Gammon's tutorials: http://www.gammon.com.au/statemachine) for fast communication. That way you could easily add an extra 52 pins to your project.

20946: <p>I am undergoing a BSc (Hons) Degree in Computer Science and working on an Arduino project.</p>

<p>I am using the Arduino Mega and even though this microprocessor has plenty of input and output pins I am running out.</p>

<p>In the event that there are no more I/O pins available for me to make use of, and I am also referring to both analog and digital pins, is it possible to increase them?</p>

<p>I did some research, however the solutions are too vague... One of the suggestions was to use one or more of the following: 74HC595 8-Bit Shift Register DIP-16.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RRzqX.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/RRzqX.png" alt="Arduino with shift registers"></a></p>

<p>I am good at coding however when it comes to hardware sometimes I'll need some push.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
 20245: <p>You can either use <a href="http://playground.arduino.cc/Code/I2CPortExpander8574" rel="nofollow">external hardware</a> or <a href="https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/MasterWriter" rel="nofollow">communicate to a 2nd Arduino</a> and control the 2nd Arduino's digital and analog ports.  Being good at coding would suggest you would prefer communicating to a 2nd Arduino.  Also, most hardware solutions only add digital pins, not analog pins.</p>
 11174: <p>You could use an MCP23017 port expander to get 16 more pins. It communicates via I2C. The pins can be set as inputs, outputs, or inputs with pullups.</p>

<p>Adafruit has a library for the expander: <a href="https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-MCP23017-Arduino-Library" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-MCP23017-Arduino-Library</a></p>

<p>This is the datasheet: <a href="http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/21952b.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/21952b.pdf</a></p>

<p>As an alternate solution, you could just add another Arduino Mega to your project, and have them both communicate via serial. You could set up state machines on each one (like in Mr. Gammon's tutorials: <a href="http://www.gammon.com.au/statemachine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.gammon.com.au/statemachine</a>) for fast communication. That way you could easily add an extra 52 pins to your project.</p>
