In social or business settings, verbal introductions often fail to leave a lasting impression, and traditional paper business cards have become so common that they lack novelty. If you want to stand out in these situations, a PCB electronic business card could be an excellent tool to enhance your recognition. Unlike regular cards, a PCB business card is not only innovative but also customizable to reflect your personal style, with even functional features. Moreover, if you have basic knowledge of electronics, you can easily DIY this simple project. In this article, we’ll guide you step by step on how to design and create a glowing PCB business card. Ready? Let’s dive into this creative DIY project!
Project Principle Explanation
The working principle of this project is relatively simple. It uses a coil connected in parallel with two LEDs, which collect energy from the electromagnetic waves emitted by an NFC device, lighting up the LEDs. This is essentially an application of “magnetic induction.”
Since the voltage received by the coil is alternating current (AC), only one LED can be lit during the positive half-cycle of the AC. If you use only one LED and the frequency is low, you might see noticeable flickering. However, when the flicker frequency is high enough, the human eye will perceive the LED as continuously lit. In practice, the design of two LEDs connected in reverse parallel can utilize both the positive and negative cycles of the AC, causing the LEDs to alternate in flashing, thereby improving energy efficiency. Based on actual test results, due to the high frequency of electromagnetic waves from the NFC device, the LEDs flash so rapidly that regardless of polarity, they appear to be continuously lit.
Designing the PCB for the Business Card
First, open your design software (in this case, Altium Designer) and create a new PCB file. Since the circuit is simple and requires few components, you can draw directly in the PCB file without the need to create a separate project or schematic file.
Here are the steps for designing each layer:
- Bottom Layer
First, you need to draw a coil in the bottom layer wiring. Adjust the spacing, size, and number of turns based on personal experience. To better view the bottom layer wiring, use the shortcut Shift+S to switch to single-layer viewing mode. This helps maintain the accuracy of the coil while improving drawing efficiency.
- Top Layer
Next, place the pads and wiring for the LED on the top layer wiring and use vias to connect both sides. On this layer, you can add personal elements such as a phone number, email, name, or QR code to make it a functional business card. For simplicity, we’ll add some Chinese characters and scale lines.
- Top Overlay & Bottom Overlay
In the PCB, the silkscreen layers are mainly used to display patterns and text. You can use a script file to convert monochrome images into silkscreen patterns and place them in the appropriate locations. For specific operations on how to convert images into silkscreen patterns, you can refer to online tutorials, so we won’t go into detail here.
- Top Solder
In this step, you need to apply a solder mask to the top layer, ensuring that the patterns and pads on the top wiring layer are exposed and not covered by the solder mask. This ensures that the design is visible. For efficiency, you can use the shortcut E+A to select and copy the top layer pattern, then paste it into the specified solder mask layer.
- Final Preview
Finally, use the software’s 3D view feature to preview the overall effect of the PCB business card. This process not only provides a visual display of the design’s aesthetics but also ensures that each layer aligns with expectations, avoiding any oversight during production.
Physical Testing
Once the design is complete, you can place an order on an appropriate PCB online quotation website. If cost is a concern, choosing a manufacturer from China is absolutely cost-effective! Initially, I wasn’t sure about the exact LED package size, which led to the pads on the business card being slightly oversized. The LED should have been a 0605 package, but the pads were designed for an 0803 package. Although not a perfect match, I was able to solder them on.
Below is a photo of the actual test results—in theory, any NFC-enabled device that supports card reading should be able to light up the LEDs on the PCB business card.
You Might Be Interested
Explore Arduino speakers, from piezo buzzers to dynamic speakers and DFPlayer Mini modules. Learn how to choose, amplify, and control audio output for your projects.
Master DesignSpark PCB with this step-by-step tutorial. Learn to create a NE555-based astable oscillator circuit to achieve a stable LED flashing effect. Perfect for both
This comprehensive guide explores how to use Arduino with LCD displays, covering essential concepts and pin configurations. It includes three practical projects: basic text display,
Electronic product development spans hardware design, testing, market research, supply chain, and optimization, requiring expertise, project management, and teamwork to ensure stability, reliability, and competitiveness.
This article will explore the fundamental principles of controlling stepper motors with Arduino, providing code examples to guide readers step by step in mastering precise
In this article, we’ll start with the basics of ultrasonic sensors, walk you through using Arduino for distance measurement, and explore practical applications of this