Spoooky Pumpkin Badge!

Hey what's up you guys?

So here's something spooky for this Halloween, a Pumpkin-Themed PCB badge.

It has LEDs on the front and back side that blinks in a dual flash mode or Bi-stable Multivibrator mode.

Its Eyes are made from two 3mm RED LED and for its mouth, I have used three Square LED that is soldered on the Bottom side of the board with other through-hold components. LEDs from the bottom side are visible through the FR4 board as there's a soldermask opening in the mouth area which makes the light from the back side visible.

The TOP Layer of this board contains the pumpkin art made by using the TOP Silkscreen layer during the PCB Editing Process.

This is a PCB badge, meaning we can wear it as a Brooch pin or even add it to our backpack.

Material Required

Following are the materials used in this built-

• 555 Timer IC
• Custom PCB
• 3mm LEDs
• Square LEDs
• 22uf Capacitor
• Coin cell holder
• 10k ohms 1/W Resistor
• 1K Ohms 1/W Resistors
• Slide Switch
• Brooch Pin

Circuit

the Circuit that I have used in this project is probably one of the easiest we can make without using a Microcontroller.

My whole approach here was minimalism, instead of using an Attiny13A or any other Microconrtoler, I utilized a 555 timer IC set in a Bi-stable Monovibrator configuration which outputs positive and negative signals from Pin 3 which is connected to two separate Loads.

The main component here is the Mightly 555 timer ic which is set up in a Bi Flasher Mode. This means at the output Pin, two LEDs are connected in such a way that when a positive signal gets out of Pin 3 this will make LED 2 Glow and LED 1 will remain LOW, and when the positive signals don't get out of Pin 3 LED 2 will become LOW and LED1 will start glowing.

Bi Flasher constantly turns Both LEDs ON and OFF by repetitive biasing of both LEDs through pin 3.

PCB Design

For the PCB Design, the theme was Halloween so I search for a Black and white image and found a suitable image that will be perfect for this project.

I imported the image into my CAD Software and added all the components on the bottom side, except for two LEDs that will become this pumpkin's eyes.

The image of the Pumpkin is added as Silkscreen TOP Layer.

For the mouth, I added a soldermask opening in both the TOP and BOTTOM layers so leds that are on the bottom side will be visible from TOP Side.

Seeed Fusion

After finalizing the PCB and generating its Gerber data, I send it to SEEED STUDIO for samples.

Ordered PCBs in Yellow Soldermask with white silkscreen.

I received PCBs in a week and their quality was super good considering the rate which was also pretty low.

Seeed Fusion PCB Service offers one-stop prototyping for PCB manufacture and PCB assembly and as a result, they produce superior quality PCBs and Fast Turnkey PCBA within 7 working days.

The PCB Quality of this Motor Controller PCB WAS SUPER!

Seeed Studio Fusion PCB Assembly Service takes care of the entire fabrication process from PCB manufacturing, parts sourcing, assembly, and testing services, so you can be sure that they are getting a quality product.

After gauging market interest and verifying a working prototype, Seeed Propagate Service can help you bring the product to market with professional guidance and a strong network of connections.

Next, we prepare for the PCB Assembly Process.

PCB Assembly

• We start the assembly process by first gathering all the components that include all the 555 Timer IC, resistors, and switches then place them on the Bottom side of the PCB.
• We then solder them by using a regular soldering iron.
• Because Resistors have leads, we use a wire cutter to strip down these leads.

Adding LEDs to the bottom side

• Next, we place Square LEDs on the bottom side of the board.
• This process is a bit makeshift as these LEDs are Throughole components but I have added an SMD Pad for this because these LEDs will be placed on the bottom side and a THT Pad will be visible from the TOP side covering the mouth area so it was better to use an SMD Pad for these LEDs.
• We shorten each LED by cutting its Leads and then placing them on the SMD Pad.

Adding LEDs to the front side

• Next, we add a 3mm THT LED on the TOP side of the PCB and use a soldering iron to solder their pads from the bottom side.
• We then cut the excess long leads of both LEDs by using a wire cutter.
• Here's a PRO TIP- Collect and save these leads that are being cut down, dont throw them or dump them. You can later use these leads to make jumper connections in any circuit.

Coin Cell Holder

• for power source, we use CR2032 Coin Cell in this project.
• We add a CR2032 COin cell THT Holder in its place and use a Soldering iron to solder the holder in its place.
• The PCB is now completed.

Result

Here's the result, a working small Pumpkin-themed PCB that looks ordinary in light, Turn OFF the light and you will see the beauty of this PCB.

Glow from the back side is visible from TOP through the Soldermask opening in the mouth region.

Eyes LEDs look menacing as well which is super spooky and kinda awesome.

Brooch Pin

To make this project wearable, we add a Brooch pin to the bottom side of the board, we use a regular Brass Brooch pin which can be easily soldered to the copper region of the PCB, I have added a solder pad for this pin at the back side of the PCB.

Conclusion

Overall, this badge looks great.

I like the Flashing Eyes which looks creepy if you keep it in darkness and watch it blinking constantly.

My Goal was to prepare this PCB for Halloween, in India we dont celebrate Halloween but it's fun to wear this badge in public and have a few laughs and maybe someone will notice and ask about this badge.

I hope this project was FUN, if yes then leave a comment.

My previous Timer IC Based Badge projects-

https://www.hackster.io/418992/yet-another-badge-a-ghost-badge-made-from-555-timer-ic-92dfbf#toc-material-required-0

https://www.hackster.io/Arnov_Sharma_makes/gengar-pcb-art-f391a1

https://www.hackster.io/Arnov_Sharma_makes/eren-yeager-pcb-art-74f4f8

https://www.hackster.io/Arnov_Sharma_makes/c-3po-blinky-board-80662b

Thanks, Seeed Studio for supporting this project, you can check them out for getting all sorts of services or materials from their site.

Peace out!