David Papp Blog

Circuit Scribe lets you draw circuits. Literally.

That’s right, it’s now possible to create circuits on paper – it’s as easy as doodling and just as fun. Featuring technology that utilizes conductive silver ink, Circuit Scribe comes as a rollerball pen, giving the user the ability to design and create fully functioning circuitry on a piece of paper.

What makes it so special?

Circuit Scribe’s ink is water based and non-toxic, making it safe and easy to use. In fact, it looks just like a regular pen. With Circuit Scribe, teaching circuitry in schools, for one, can be done more efficiently and effectively as the technology is designed to be accessible and inexpensive.

Whether you’re building simple circuits or more complex ones, Circuit Scribe takes away all of the bulky paraphernalia that typically comes with making even the simplest of circuits, allowing the user to focus on designing the circuit systems and understanding circuit behavior while allowing lots of room for creativity. Using Circuit Scribe also results in less waste – no more wires and breadboards – and it can be cheaper since it lets you create as many prototypes as you want.

And if you’re worried that the quality will be compromised, don’t be. Circuit Scribe has been widely tested and has proven reliable in making high quality circuitry that instantly work.

The inventors of Circuit Scribe, Electroninks, have also created a range of magnetic components that snap right into the circuits you draw. These can allow you to connect the circuits to each other and create more sophisticated systems.

With Circuit Scribe, teaching electronics in a hands-on manner has just become a whole lot easier, not to mention more fun for kids and adults alike. Circuit Scribe can even be used to augment art projects (such as making a simple greeting card) or to create complex, full-fledged systems. The possibilities are indeed endless.

You can learn more about it from the project’s campaign video.

30 thoughts on “Circuit Scribe lets you draw circuits. Literally.”

  1. The amount of progress we have made is quite amazing. The only problem is implementing these new ideas on an already troubled education system. I really admire the creativity and intelligence of the people behind this pen.

  2. This is an interesting product. I agree with Rob that the impact on the learning system would be massive if handled correctly. But i question just how useful this really is, I mean how often, or how many times will one person make a circuit? I don’t think for long.

    • I definitely agree that they’re much more suited for an educational environment rather than an actual practical use. I remember learning how to make circuits, and it being exceptionally dull, and quite difficult to understand. If I was able to draw wires the circuits like they were drawn on the diagrams, I’d have almost certainly understood better.

  3. Wow that was cool. I can see this product flying off the shelves especially for engineering students and regular people who needs to create some cool circuits. But how practical is this? I mean sure it looks cool but I don’t think you can make really complex connections with this.

  4. This is amazing. You’d never think that someone would bother to make a product that addresses something as small as this. But there are certainly many, many electrical engineering students out there dying to find something like this. I can see many other applications for this, hopefully the company will expand upon this to make other interesting products in the future.

  5. Yes it is quite a nice idea but aren’t there still some problems with it? I mean it is quite nice that you can just write a circuit on a piece of paper but how long does the circuit last, and how many different surfaces can it be used on? But more importantly when and where can I get one this would be perfect for teaching my little brother about basic electronics.

  6. This is quite amazing, I never really thought it was possible until now. It makes me wonder what we can do next. Also, it’s going to be amazing to see where it leads from here. It’s not an every day thing yet, so what will it be used for until it is.

  7. I cannot wait to try one of these!

    The projects this could be used for are only limted by your imagination. Well, some basic circuit knowledge would help too. Although, it seems that with very little experience, or no understanding of electronics at all, someone could easily get started learning with a battery, some wires, and an LED.

    The Circuit Scribe would be an excellent tool for introducing the science of electricity to students of all ages. College engineering labs are sure to find endless uses for the technology as well. Has anyone strapped one of these to a CNC machine, yet?

    With the current boom of ‘makers’, the rising interest in DIY electronics, home-made robotics, and hacking anything with a circuit board, this little tool is going to take off!

    I’m purchasing one as soon as possible. I wonder what kits, or types of accessories comes with it. When I get one, I’ll come back here and comment on my experience.

  8. It’d save a lot of time and annoyance for students and engineers alike. Could also be a nifty tool to be kept at home to do small wiring fixes. It would be perfect for education. A very creative idea indeed.

  9. Haha, I have to admit I absolutely love this. I could see so many possible users in terms of arts & crafts, education, and so fourth. Think I’ll have to add this to the future “must buy” list in terms of giving it away as a gift. Certainly seems like something that would really interest a number of people and secure my seat as #1 gift giver in their lives.

  10. Now, we are faced with the issue of implementing these systems into our education system. The progress we have made as a society is astounding. I admire the people behind these technologies and their innovations.

  11. That’s mildly interesting. Can you make complex circuits with it? I mean not just connect the dots A and B type of circuits. But this would be pretty nifty for engineers and electricians, you don’t have to mess around coppers and wires and solders.

  12. This would have been *infinitely* useful back in my days of being on an “Odyssey of the Mind” team. I can only imagine how beneficial it would be to high school electronics teachers everywhere. No doubt that would probably be too expensive for most school districts. I think I’d have fun just playing with it for fun, myself!

  13. It sounds like a very good idea, it will be critical for many electrical engineers to draw and test their circuit boards or things along those lines. But I also think that this needs a bit of improvement before it is used for commercial uses such as computers. I think this will change the price of circuit boards by making it easier to create this circuit boards.

  14. How cool is this? What will technology come up with next? I would have never imagined something like this.

  15. Oh how i wish this was invented while I was still in school! As an Electronics Eng’g student (before), this could have made learning Circuitry and Diagrams a lot more easier, because with this, it will make much more sense than the ones that are drawn by the teachers in the board. Imagine how much time we could have saved if we have this to use for our thesis planning!

    Anyway, this one is really great! I hope that there are affordable kits for schools and students and refillable inks as well. I can only imagine using Board papaer for this since normal paper would tear if I insert a capacitor or resistor. 🙂

  16. This product is very interesting. I am sure that this is going to be very useful with the future technology that will soon come out. It is also a great learning tool.

  17. Very cool idea and execution. Some of the examples reminded me of those Christmas postcards that played music and lights when opened – now we can easily make them :). The integration with Arduino is a major plus.

  18. Amazing, electrical engineering was never my forte, but as a computer science major it was important to learn about all the circuits and connectors involved that make a computer run.

    I think an invention like this is especially useful for kids or anyone who wants to learn more on how circuits work. It provides a friendly and fun experience that would otherwise be considered very mundane and boring to most.

  19. Wow, this seems a very important invention, that can affect and influence the way that circuits are taught in school. This is a great tool to advance the comprehending ability of the students who had a phobia from circuits and didn’t find it interesting. This can be incorporated in text books so that the students know what’s exactly happening in a circuit while reading about it. I might propose that further advancement in the technology could even replace the wires inside the walls of our houses, to make repairs fast and easy. Brilliant technology.

  20. All of this great innovation really boosts children’s education and imagination. Now teachers can take a different route to introduce children to a new type of learning. They can keep the experience fresh and fun without making the children bored.
    This advance in technology will surely benefit us in the future due to accessibility and ease.

  21. This is amazing! I love how we have evolved technologically-wise and we are able to create things like drawing circuits or using 3d pens.
    I’m definitely gonna use one in the future as it is very handy! I think we will see more of these in the future!

  22. This has a lot of potential as a STEM learning tool. This could help bring science to younger and younger kids, making it easy to make circuits without the need for wires. It might be easy to make one of these pens, perhaps fill a ink cartridge with ferrofluid, and basically draw with that. What would be even better is if you had an ink cartridge for a printer, and you could use that to print circuits rather than draw them. You could make flexible, somewhat temporary printed circuit board.

  23. This is really an amazing step towards lowering the bar to enter the world of electronics. Wire tends to be really expensive after you begin using a lot of it and being able to use the pen instead really would cut down on the costs. Also, its just a really neat gadget and would be great for party tricks. One can only hope that its popularity or appeal will be able to drop the price and make it more accessible in less developed nations

  24. The stuff they are coming up with these days is crazy. It’s even more awesome that it is non-toxic~

  25. I think my eyes need to rest because it cannot believe what it is seeing right row. How is this even possible? Being able to set up a circuit on paper is like some fantasy land stuff of dreams that people would have probably thought of but knew would be simply impossible, but yet the reality is coming true day by day. This is definitely great for educational purposes. The only thing is how much will these even cost when they finally get out?

  26. I’ve heard about circuit scribe before, it is an amazing idea. It will help young aspiring students to learn about electricity without having to fool with wires. Or seasoned electricians can use this to blueprint complex circuits and test them out. No matter the case circuit scribe is for all audiences. Hopefully its safe, since it looks like insulated wire which looks hazardous.

  27. Okay this type of complex yet simplistic technology is amazing! After getting a little more informed from the video I’m about ready to go see how I can get my hands on one. The link in the video didn’t work, but I’m sure a product as unique as this won’t be hard to find online.

  28. I’ve actually never heard of this type of technology. Interesting. I know very little about electronics. I’m going to have to do a little research so that I can at least have a basic understanding of this technique. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

  29. It’s a nice tool for electricians, enthusiasts, and electrical engineers a lot. There is a great emphasis in visualization when it comes to learning circuit theory. Basically, all the rules involved like PIV, Thevenin’s, Node Analysis, and so on, can be simplified immensely if one has the imagination. I think circuit scribe lends its usefulness to this matter greatly.

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