Bare Conductive Paint *pens*

[midwayfair]

My wife sent this to me. Looks relevant to our interests ... might be a useful alternative when etching or prototype PCBs aren't an option or just something to do on a sunday afternoon in front of the tv.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/14/bare-conductive-pens

[TNblueshawk]

Interesting. Anyone tried one?

So your wife is perusing Wired and mine is looking at dept store magazines. I need to get mine to read your wife's !

[midwayfair]

Interesting. Anyone tried one?

So your wife is perusing Wired and mine is looking at dept store magazines. I need to get mine to read your wife's !

I haven't tried one yet. I might order one soon after I work out how much the ink costs. Cost-benefit analysis and all that.

I do most of my non-manufactured board stuff on perfboard (not even vero), but it has its limitations. And I HATE doing IC-based stuff on perf. This could be really useful for doing longer traces or to connect IC pins.

My wife's better informed about most things than I am. She crochets incredibly cute things, too:

[jkokura]

Impressive that she was able to crochet a pair of children who look much more like little statues than crocheted things. How did she get the fine detail in the girls hair? And that sax in the little boys hands! Wow! She's very skilled at crocheting...

Jacob

[gtr2]

If you want to sell the little guys you should post in the buy/sell forum. 

[midwayfair]

If you want to sell the little guys you should post in the buy/sell forum.  

they're not for sale. They're my band. I apologize if I've offended anyone.  

edit, for good measure:  

Double edit: Nobody else has anything to say good, bad, or otherwise about the conductive paint pens?

[jkokura]

well... they're not new. I know that guys got super excited about them at DIY Stompboxes a while back.

Since I don't etch I don't really see them being useful for me at all. I use a breadboard, then do a layout, then get someone to etch it or do a prototype through Dorkbot. The pens don't fit in with what's working for me.

But super cool idea. I saw a video at least a year ago where a guy did a circuit drawing on a piece of white paper. He used masking tape to apply some resistors and stuff to the paper, then had an LED that was flashing in time after hooking up a battery pack. Neat experiment.

Jacob

[gtr2]

I was just kidding midwayfair, hence the wink.  Those little things are rad! 

Josh

[jubal81]

Looks interesting, but I'm skeptical. I've tried two other types and they didn't work worth a poo - and they're expensive buggers.

[CRBMoA]

I keep whatever pen Rat Shack sells on hand in case I want to touch up an etch that doesn't look buttlet-proof.

Shake well before application and force dry with some kind of heat (a 60 watt bulb is fine) and it is a handy little trick to save an etch.

cb

[raulduke]

Yep, I think the pens are intended more for track repairs etc. than they are for full circuit layouts.

Would be fun to try though I guess!