How to make eco friendly jewelry using discarded PCB

Fashionable geek jewelries, office decoration stuffs, home decors, etc. made out of discarded unused PCB boards have been a practice since the 1980s. The Chicago's Museum of Science hosts the display of such products in their "Smart Home 2009" exhibit. Different daily usable goods such as a pencil box, a pen stand, a circuit board clock, mouse pads, etc. can be made easily out of the damaged circuit boards. In the following article I will demonstrate how to make a bracelet out of a damaged computer motherboard.

Eco friendly jewelry made from discarded PCB

Difficulty level:The difficulty level to make such things is moderately easy or medium varying upon complexity of the design of the jewelry.

Time required:

It depends on the jewelry design and skill of the person on this work. But it shouldn't take more than a day at any cost.

What are you going to need:

Tools needed:

1. A drill-machine along with the drill bits
2. A hacksaw or a similar cutter
3. A hand file (preferably a smooth one)
4. Cutting pliers and nose pliers (pliers with a pointed nose)
5. A sewer's tape
6. A pair of holding die
7. A dust mask

1. A computer motherboard
2. Telephone wires and a thick copper wire

1. First of all, measure your wrist so as to make an estimate of how many small PCB portions you'll have to cut up to encircle your hand completely. In such case avoid the use of a metal tape as it fails to take the measurement of a round shape. Instead, make use of the sewer's tape and note down the measurements.
2. After you have taken the measurement, start cutting out segments from the PCB according to your own selected size. Make sure to cut equally sized segments in case of the bracelet. You should try to keep the shape of the segments similar to that of a square. You can chose a few similarly sized chips on the board and cut them out as they will look good on your hand. Don't forget to wear the dust mask while cutting the PCB as the saw dust is very harmful for your lungs and even nauseating.
3. Once finished with the cutting part, clamp each segment with the help of the die and start smoothing the same with the help of a smooth hand file. Look for any sharp cut surfaces or any other things that can hurt your skin. Make sure to spare the upper surfaces of the chips or components because filing them too will blur their appearance and damage their glossy outlook. After finished with the file-work, dip the components into water to get rid of the deposited dust. Don't hesitate to dip them in water because that will do no harm to your PCB components.
4. Next, again hold them in the die and start drilling small holes near their corners (two on each side) to bind them together. Keep in mind that the holes should always be in a straight line, failing which the entire alignment of the bracelet will be damaged. Try to drill the holes towards the extreme corners of the component (not too far enough as that will force the component to break up at the corners). After you are done with the hole, wash them again with water to get rid of the drill-dust.
5. Next comes the binding part in which you will have to bind these components with the help of some copper wires. If you have an elastic string, there is no issue regarding this. But in the absence of an elastic string, copper wires of telephone lines can also be used to bind the PCB components together. First of all, place all the segments in a line. Then cut small pieces of the copper wire and then use them to bind the components through the holes. You can chose different binding styles such as knots or hooks as per your convenience as the copper wire is very soft and ductile in nature.
6. There you are finished with the making of a beautiful, fashionable, ultramodern jewelry made out of discarded Printed Circuit Boards.

1. Always use a sewer's tape to take the measurement of the wrist.
2. Make sure that the PCB is damaged and not a good one!
3. Carefully smoothen the cut or drilled surfaces with a smooth hand file to prevent any skin injury.