CircuitBoardHere's a behind-the-scenes follow-up to the LED test fixtures of the previous few posts: when we only need a simple circuit for a 3D-printed project, we can meld the two instead of using a formal circuit board. In this context "meld" is meant literally: the parts of the circuit can be heated up with the soldering iron so they melt into the 3D printer plastic.

When I built the dual-LED acrylic illumination test rig, I wanted the simplest circuit possible. It's not something I need to be durable long-term and I wanted to be up and running with my tests as quickly as possible. The full length of a resistor and its wires are almost long enough to bridge the gap between the two sides of the fixture, so I tried to make that work.

When I started soldering all the wires together, I had planned to just leave everything dangling. But the close proximity of the soldering gun to the 3D printed PLA plastic started softening the plastic and I realized I can use this to my advantage. A few seconds with the soldering iron was all it took to heat up a wire so it can be melted into and embedded into the plastic. The resistors themselves took a little more effort, but I sunk them into the plastic as well. The LEDs had been held in place by their bent legs, which was sufficiently stable but had a tiny bit of wobble. Melting the plastic around LED legs gave us a much more secure placement.

Components melted into the plastic are no longer subject to flexing and eventually breaking from metal fatigue. Add a strip of electrical tape to guard against short circuiting to complete the quick and simple circuit to light up the test rig LEDs.