LED Circuit Board Class Activity

thingiverse

This educational circuit board is designed to introduce middle school and high school students to simple circuits and 3D printing. Conductive paint makes this project safe, eliminating the need for hot solder. By completing this project, students will learn about circuit types, resistor roles, and calculating amperage in series circuits. Materials Needed: - LED - Resistor (470 Ohm, Yellow-Violet-Brown) - 9 volt battery - Battery connector with stripped positive and negative leads - Conductive paint Print Settings: Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.20 or less Infill: 10-15% is sufficient Post-Printing: Making the Circuit Board Step 1: Gently sand off any rough edges using super fine sandpaper. Step 2: Apply conductive paint to grooves around the board, ensuring not to fill component holes. Step 3: Allow the paint to dry according to the manufacturer's instructions. Step 4: Once completely dry, lightly sand painted areas to confirm paint is only in the grooves. Step 5: Assemble components using cold "solder" and conductive paint. Let paint dry. How I Designed This Diagram of circuit used as a basis for board design. Results Finished Product and Grading After completing these steps, you should have a working circuit board with a lit LED. When grading this project, teachers should evaluate: -solid connections between components and the board -Attention to detail in painting grooves on the board -Correct identification of the circuit type (series circuit) -Calculating correct amperage for the circuit using I=V/R