Mikey drew the circuit board’s design in 2D, keeping the walls .03” wide and the trace channels .07” wide. He then extruded the drawing to be .06” tall. That’s also the depth of the conductive trace channels, which are filled with conductive material.

Atop the board is a .03”-thick front panel with .07-square-inch holes for the components.

The DIYer mentions that you may end up with holes that are too small after printing. In that case, you can clean them out using a drill bit. (Alternatively, you can redesign the holes to be a little wider.)

Between the trace channels is the standard .01″ spacing. The conductive material can be anything from commercial conductive paint to conductive epoxy.

The STL file can be found on Thingiverse.

Materials:

• PLA
• PICAXE-08M2 microcontroller (or any other controller, as long as you’re able to program it yourself!)
• Conductive epoxy
• 3 LEDs
• 3 resistors (one 10kΩ, one 100kΩ, and what appears to be one 22Ω)

Tools:

• Sandpaper
• Eyedropper
• Drill bit
• Toothpick
• FDM 3D printer

Naturally, if you don’t have access to a 3D printer, you can always outsource the printing to a 3D printing service. To help you find the best service provider for you, check out All3DP’s Price Comparison Service. We provide real-time prices from a variety of companies, like Shapeways, Sculpteo, and i.Materialise.

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Mikey programmed the Picaxe microcontroller using a simple script, which appears in his Instructables post. For more information on how to do this, check out Picaxe’s website.

First, populate your board with the required components, then cut and bend the leads. Note that the electrical connections will be better if you have longer leads. As such, it’s a good idea to double-bend them. Once the components are in place, it’s time to glue them.

Ensure that the epoxy is filled to just below the height of the walls. Use a toothpick to make sure all the leads have enough contact with the substance. If you want a better electrical connection, you’ll have to take extra care in making sure the leads are well bent and well smeared with the conductive material.

Let your assembled parts dry overnight at room temperature.

As drying occurs, you’ll notice that the conductive material shrinks. This means you need to touch up the traces. Fill any gaps, holes, or bubbles with fresh epoxy. After it dries, use sandpaper to eliminate any conductive material that may short the traces.

Your circuit is now complete and ready for testing.

An important note: Your conductive material should never be allowed to freeze. It’s also advisable to seal your entire circuit – after it has been tested – using a sealer like silicone to prevent oxygen or moisture from entering. Embedding the circuit in epoxy or silicone will help in preventing the components from losing their connections or shifting as a result of pressure or vibration.

Mikey admits that, while this 3D printed circuit board may not replace traditional soldered circuits anytime soon, it is a step closer to the fully-automated 3D printed circuit. As mentioned earlier, the purpose of the circuit is simply to demonstrate what’s possible with 3D printing.

Feeling adventurous? Try programming your own program into the microcontroller!