The printed circuit board (PCB) maker JLCPCB is the first board house to offer full-color printing on the silkscreen layer for made to order boards.
Meant as a boon to designers creating colorful or cute PCBs, there are uses for this technology that transcend circuit board use.
Many Makers have used circuit board design for artistic purposes. Your author has done so in three previous Adafruit guides:
- Making PCB Jewelry & Art with Gingerbread and KiCad
- Making Wearable Badge Art with Printed Circuit Boards
- LCARS-inspired Circuit Board Panel
With this new capability, the color possibilities are opened up compared to standard PCB colors represented by the substrate, copper, silkscreen and solder mask. Any design an artist wishes to be placed on a thin, hard surface can be made easily at a fairly low cost.
This guide will show you how I used JLCPCB to make some colorful jewelry as an example. You may replicate the project with the included files. Hopefully also you'll glean how to make other designs with the process.
No compensation was taken from JLCPCB for the making of this guide and services were paid by the author. The board house was chosen due to them having the first full-color PCB printing service available for order in the industry at the time.
Page last edited July 31, 2024
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