Crafting a circuit
Project idea
Design a circuit on a paper using different crafting techniques and materials.
The design of your paper circuit should communicate the topic "round and edgy". Interpret this topic in your own way and find your visual language.
On the technical side your circuit should be powered by a 3V coin cell and include a parallel circuit with two LEDs.
For your circuit design, choose at least two different conductive materials and two different crafting techniques. The shape of your circuit but also the choice of material and how you connect these materials should support your design concept.
You can either work in classroom 6.04 or Creative Technology Lab (CTL) 6.01.
Crafting takes time and one will see the time you spent in your project, so take advantage of the given time.
Methods
Conductive materials for circuit traces (replacing jumper wires) and possible techniques:
- silver yarn (real silver & polyester thread, very high conductivity): sewing, stitching, weaving, crocheting, soldering
- conductive wool (sheep wool mixed with steel fibers): felting, knotting, stitched onto a surface with conductive or non-conductive yarn, no soldering
- aluminium foil: cutting, glueing, folding, soldering
- steel yarn (thread out of steel fibers, higher resistance than silver yarn): sewing, stitching, weaving, crocheting, no soldering
- copper tape: glueing onto surfaces, cutting, soldering
- other metal materials
Questions:
- What creative ways of making connections within a crafted circuit can you invent?
- How can you connect the legs of the LEDs?
- Is all of your circuit visible or is there a front and back side? Is the front side more important/more interesting or the backside?
- What non-conductive materials and techniques do you choose to tell your concept?
Techniques for designing:
- drawing
- painting
- printing
- scanning
- collaging
Non-conductive materials:
- paper
- textil
- plastics
- natural materials
- wood
Example for circuit designs
Industrially manufactured circuit boards with SMD components (surface mounted device)
Circuit board from 1966: bigger components, through-hole technology and round organic conductive traces.
Colorful old resistance circuit board.
Backside of copper etched PCBs (printed circuit board).
Paper circuit with copper tape traces by Jie Qi.
Circuit on paper made with conductive paint
Textile circuits out of conductive yarn and sewable LEDs by Brittany Glassey.
