This See-Through “Printed Circuit Board” Requires No Solder
Brown Dog Gadgets shares a new take on a PCB using conductive tape, clear acrylic, and an ATtiny85.
As you probably know, the abbreviation “PCB” stands for “printed circuit board,” which generally means some sort of copper pattern manufactured on an insulating substrate. According to this project writeup, the actual definition of a PCB would be something that “mechanically supports and electrically connects electrical or electronic components using conductive tracks.” Applying this broadly, the Brown Dog Gadgets has decided to make a PCB using a printed piece of paper as a pattern, clear acrylic as the substrate, and lengths of conductive Maker Tape to let electricity flow.
With this simple taped construction method, those new to electronics can form a circuit with very explicit instructions that literally show where to put each piece of tape and component. The circuit itself is fairly advanced as far as paper circuits go, with five LEDs, two CR2032 batteries in series, a switch made from Maker Tape and paper, and an ATtiny85 to activate the LEDs in different patterns.
In order to hook the leads up to tape, the project uses stackable female headers, which are bent to stick on the tape instead of the microcontroller’s leads. This means you can pop it out for reprogramming if needed, and allows it to form a good connection with each piece of tape.
Results can be seen in the video below. It looks like a great way to introduce someone to electronics without having to figure out how to solder!