Just about every electronic appliance in your home contains a printed circuit board (PCB) but do you ever wonder what happens to PCB’s after they have been used? Tons of PCB’s are thrown away every year but thanks to some very creative people used PCB’s are being turned into artistic and functional products. We have selected some of our favourites below.
PCB Shoes
Any followers of our PCB blog will remember the PCB shoes we wrote about a while back, well since then we have found someone who has taken that idea one step further to create an imitation pair of Nike Air Jordan’s exclusively using electrical components and circuit boards.
Sadly, these shoes won’t be hitting the shelves any time soon. They are the crazy artistic concoction of Gabriel DiShaw who makes it his business to sculpt top notch trainers into art; all by using discarded materials.
PCB Trainer
If you are looking for something a little more comfortable take a look at this interesting design. We like the green laces that fit in brilliantly with the colour scheme of the shoe and the design and detail of the printed circuit across the whole shoe is actually rather stylish.
PCB Cufflinks
The PCB cufflink set is the perfect gift for the fashion conscious gent. Each cufflink uses a 16mm square of PCB. What makes these PCB cufflinks even more special is that no two sets will ever be the same.
PCB Art
Talented sculptor Steven Rodrig has taken our business here at PCB Train and turned it into an intricate little hobby. Mr.Rodrig, working for an OEM company, is exposed to PCB’s often at his workplace and his prior knowledge of ‘Structural Mechanics’ led him to the interesting practice of modelling small sculptures from spare or used PCB’s.
As shown above, Steven’s PCB sculpting abilities stretch far beyond single objects or creatures, he can make full scenes from unused PCB’s. Take a moment to appreciate the sheer intricacy of these sculptures. Countless hours of planning and practice must have gone into getting these to look so neat and tidy.
Organic, biodegradable PCB’s
A mobile phone that biodegrades into a sunflower and a printed circuit board made out of lasagne. These are just two innovative examples of biodegradable PCB’s.
We can certainly see the benefit for mobile phones. After owning your phone for a year (usually) yoa are ready for an upgrade. Simply take the old handset, plant it in the garden and let nature take its course. After a short time your phone biodegrades organically and you get a beautiful sunflower into the bargain, very cool!
While it is very unlikely we will be switching our production line to a pasta-based one, we certainly like the idea and it’s great to see innovations in PCB technology.
PCB Business Card
A savvy electrical engineer from The University of Waterloo thought up another fantastic purpose for PCB manufacture – his business cards, with an integrated USB connection!
Could this be a sign of the future? Imagine the data that could be passed over. Not just simple contact details and addresses, but full-on portfolios, video presentations, games, and any other form of digital media. This is a fantastic concept and a great use of PCB’s. Well done Frank Zhao!
PCB Furniture
While we don’t have these at PCB Train HQ yet, the PCB bench looks perfect for our needs!
As technology evolves over time, old things become obsolete and are replaced by the new ones, but nothing in this world can replace the sweet memories of your first vehicle, cell phone or even computer. GuyIn Milwaukee, who found it difficult to part with his first computer, came up with an ingenious idea to keep it for life. He converted his late 80s machine into a stunning table that he calls the Computer Board Table. As technology evolves over time, old things become obsolete and are replaced by the new ones, but nothing in this world can replace the sweet memories of your first vehicle, cell phone or even computer. GuyIn Milwaukee, who found it difficult to part with his first computer, came up with an ingenious idea to keep it for life. He converted his late 80s machine into a stunning table that he calls the Computer Board Table.
Homebrew PCB
The internet is awash with shops to suit just about anything you could ever want to spend your hard earned money on. Top geek culture store ThinkGeek.com are now offering a fantastic must-have product for any PCB enthusiast/electronics hobbyist, an etch your own circuit board kit. This is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in how circuit boards are etched. The next step is PCB Assembly, soldering each individual component to your very own hand-crafted circuit. Retailing at $49.99, it is costly but definitely a must-have for any electronics hobbyist or enthusiast.
Binary Chair
BRC Designs have created a unique chair made from motherboards, computer chips, LCD screens and hard drive disks. brcdesigns.com
Binary Low Table
Once you have got your PCB chair you will naturally want a table to match. Luckily the creative people at BRC designs have got that covered. The table is made from metal from computer towers, motherboards, chips, LED screens and hard drive disks. brcdesigns.com
Giant Egg
This 7-foot-tall egg, created by Brazilian artists Adriana Varella and Nilton Maltz, is installed at Lytton Plaza in Pablo Alto California and is made of renewed circuit boards.
PCB Guitar
We love this guitar from Lightning Joe’s Guitar Heaven, Arroyo Grande. CA, made from used printed circuit boards.
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