Computer Bugs

How to turn old computer parts into cute little bugs.
Help save the environment at least a little plus make gifts for friends and family

Step 1: Tools of the trade

Gather your supplies, I included but might not use each time:
Pliers
Solder
Circuit Board (obsolete/dead)
Tape
Soldering Iron
Super Glue
Paints
Paintbrush
Toothpicks
Knife
Nail Clippers

Comments

[KionK]

Ii is a good idea....

[aliyevzaur1989]

What a waste of electronic components

[ssshag]

Define "waste".

[aliyevzaur1989]

Someone can use these parts to build some useful circuits.

[hippyland2]

your right. yuor suposed to just recycle the computer not waste them. also how does this help save the enviorment?

[ssshag]

"your right"
Yes, it IS his right.

"yuor suposed … the computer not waste them" ; "enviorment"
Uh, this is a joke, correct??

[nnygamer]

All the others disagree beside the components were all obsolete or broken it's better to reuse the parts then throw them away.

[master key]

some people find uses for working obsolete computes and computer parts

[vadipp]

And bring joy into this world, too :)

[Myself]

I'm really surprised that you managed to find tantalum caps with such longs leads. Aren't they usually bent and trimmed pretty short? I'm guessing those were diagonal across DIP sockets, which are getting rare. Also, without getting too negative, can I nudge you on the "save the environment" line? I understand that these components don't go immediately into a landfill, but they also don't prevent anything new from being made, and they will probably end up in a landfill eventually. I see zero environmental impact from this, neither positive nor negative. I'm curious to hear your take on it.

[ssshag]

This IS in the realm of "save the environment" -- it IS recycling, and just as valid as any other recycling. THIS is something new getting made--art/craft. Anyway, eventually many or most of those other things being made from "traditional" recycling will end up where? They'll end up at, sooner, if not later (at the end of their recycling life), the landfill.

[nnygamer]

I know that it won't do much for the environment at first, but I hope that the bugs made will be around for a while and by the time they do end up being discarded the policies on recycling them will be much more advanced then now. As for the tantalum caps, well almost all my parts came from boards my cousin gave me that would have otherwise be buried in a landfill now. I think those came from an old Ethernet router.

[build52]

great job! 5 star!!!

[Husham Samir]

Awesome!!!!

[DELETED_trevyboy]

(removed by author or community request)

[nnygamer]

There are all kinds of places to get the components. Old radios, boom boxes, TV's (be careful with them), some telephones (not cell phones), VCRs, DVD players, clock radios.
I just happened to have a bunch of old obsolete computer parts to work with and it turned out great to call them Computer Bugs.

[pastanaut]

If you don't know what a capacitor looks like, don't take apart old TVs! The capacitor can discharge and kill you if you don't know what you're doing.

[OrIsIt]

You sure? Even if you take it out of power and leave it for a couple of days. I heard the engergy radiates after a couple of days

[nnygamer]

The energy can stay in them for weeks, I know I took apart a monitor once that hadn't been used in a month and got zapped. I sat down for about 10 minutes and was just in a daze not being able to think straight. I was very lucky.

[vadipp]

Or, just LONG-circuit (using a several Ohm resistor) all components you see before touching them :)

[redsunmtm]

not agree with you when you say "not cell phones", just take a look on my sculptures on the link i gave up here and you'll see a lot of cel phone components solded together, it is just question of pacience and good tools to solder them a sure a good technique an many imagination ! ;P

[nnygamer]

Most cell phones have SMD that are hard to work with if you have fat fingers like me. I do use them as detailing on models though.

for those who don't know SMD= surface mount device

[lsutigertuff]

Great Idea!!

[urielh]

it's realy work?

[FraKtuL]

Awesome! I think I've finally found a purpose for my collection of 386 motherboards and ISA stuff that I can't seem to GIVE away on Craigslist. :)
BTW: The "free" section on Craigslist is a great source to find broken electronics that some people just don't want to throw away.

[redsunmtm]

you should take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/user/redsunmtm#p/a/u/0/B-x8gjJVxE4 have a nice view and get good ideas !

[redsunmtm]

you should look this page i do those things for more than 15 year now !
http://eclipse-online.info/ go to sultures section and then: roll over to find SCULPTURES ELECTRONIQUES just after wood ones

[thevansleaving]

This is a great idea! Does anyone know how much these might weigh? These would make some really cute earrings to give away as presents if they don't weigh to much :D Or even a cute necklace!

[nnygamer]

They don't weigh much at all. I've seen regular earrings that probably weighed more.
Just solder a pin to the body, cut off and hook it to a craft earring hanger. I'd make sure the feet were smooth with a small blob of solder to prevent picking and catching.

[JOBGG]

And you might want to use lead free solder and ROHS compliant components for anything you ever think about sticking into a hole anywhere in your body...just to be safe, lead poisoning is no fun. But yeah, these are pretty light, unless you just have to hang a 1F 200V Capacitor monsterbug from your face.

[nnygamer]

Also a nice coat of clear nail polish over the whole thing will help seal it.

[CielMarcheur]

This is brilliant ! Congratulations. I love your creations.
I'll try to do some.

[thomathome]

love this idea been making them for ages. I made a bunch of winged ants and solderd them to some old sim cards : ) Sim-bee-ants! anyone?

[acosicris]

I hate bugs! But those seems to be harmless. LOL.
Nice ible!!!

[vishalapr]

I like the ible but I would personally use those parts, well done on this ible!!!

[SysGhost]

Oh dear. If I ever see those buggers crawling out from under my computer, it's a sign that I need to clean up my program code from bugs.
;)

[apaterson1]

would the resistors still work if i wanted to recycle them into another project?

[nnygamer]

I don't see why not. As long as you don't overheat any of the components they should be good to reuse.

[nbagf]

woudn't it be random if these were able to be used in projects

[rcosmo]

Soo cute! im so gonna make it tomorrow right after i wake up xD

[coleyy]

you could use an intigrated circuit or 2 attatched together and ad a head to make a centipede!

[syncromatic]

Cool idea, reminds me of the game ZOIKZ.

[Harry8D]

This is amazing, im going to make a couple for my dad this christmas. I've spent the day harvesting old toys like Walkie talkies (goldmines) and remote controlled cars.
Keep up the good work! :D

[Drasa]

I really love this, as soon as i can get some Resistors I will make one, thanks for sharing this awesome idea!

[Win Guy]

Love it! Totally awesome... 5/5

[Blue_Bird]

Thanks for the inspiration, I made on after I saw this instructable

[nnygamer]

The bee theme seems to be one of the best selling of all I've made. Looks good!

[ZeroXL91]

Hey, what about hard wood floor gloss?

[nnygamer]

That probably would work fine, it should be nice tough and waterproof if designed for floors.

[girlnextdoor]

I can't wait to make these!! I'm always taking these parts off of things my hubby (who's a tech) is gonna throw away. He teases me relentlessly about it too. Wait till he sees these! Think I'll make mine into fridge magnets!

[nnygamer]

Fridge magnets is a great idea. I'll have to see if I have some magnets hangint around I can use. I just sold all the bugs I made this past week, over 30 of them. A few sold before the paint was even dry.

[vitruvian8807]

Hehe, I wouldn't having these bugs around my computer. I once found an old board with colorful resistors, green, gold, pink, still have them around, not sure where I could get some more colorful resistors though.

[BlackJavaBean]

Very cool, I don't know how many bad components I've thrown away. Really wish I would have saved them! I'm pretty sure these little things are going to start infesting my desk at work.

[amydearmas]

These are neat! Can my kids make these to sell for an earth day project?

[nnygamer]

I don't see any problem with them selling them, just be careful making them. I would try and get as much of the original solder off the parts as I could then use a non lead or silver solder on all exposed metal to seal the little bit of lead based solder left. A nice coat or two of gloss should be fine to seal any metals, they aren't really meant to be handled much anyway. Have fun and enjoy. Be sure to recycle the leftover boards when you can too.

[nbagf]

if you want to let others sell your invention you need to change your liscense for this instructable because it says it will be non-commercial

[nnygamer]

I'm not worried about the licensing since I'm most likely not the first to do thi, I just happen to be the one to show how.

[wilesman]

Brilliant as soon as the long winter nights come around, I will be making a few of these thanks.

[Biohazard1194]

Well, I know what I'm doing when its my shift to watch the garage sale. Very nice instructable.

[the_burrito_master]

so awesome, I'm taking apart a vcr right now it has tons of resistors and caps in it. Might make one! But I want most of the resistors for a project I'm about to start.

[nickodemus]

Amazing!

[kcls]

Great job! These are really cool looking.

[NutandBolt]

Looks great, fabulous idea.

[M.C. Langer]

Beautiful!!!

[scraptopower]

I remove the components with a heat gun, much faster. You can heat the underside of the board up using the heat gun and then tap it on the table. Most of the components will just fall out.

[mikeyx]

Virus model

[TSC]

Sweet!!!!!!!! cool!!!!!!!!! good job!!!!!!! I will give it 5 Stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shane1163]

the little one is my first attempt.. didn't turn out to well but didn't want to try fixing cuz I figured it would just fall apart and make it worse lol

[TSC]

Sweet!!!!!!!! cool!!!!!!!!

[Kornelie]

 love it :)

[derttiej]

thats cool!

[nnygamer]

My first ones were a bit unstable, I found waiting for the iron to get up to temp helps. After practicing you will get a feel for it. I also made a few people and animals.

[Kornelie]

 great idea, i'm gonna make few soon, i hope :)

[Annettep]

This stuff is really cool, i am trying it day after day. each one i make is diffrent and uniqe and has there own name. I love it

[Kornelie]

 so cool! i need to make my own soon!

[sneakyparasol]

Oh wow!! That really is awesome. This gives me something to do in the weekend. Thanks very much!

[duhan16]

perfect!!!!

[flemron]

Great idea! a cool thing to do next would to add an LED into the tail of one or body of one and make a fire fly.

[nnygamer]

That would be cool. maybe make the central body out of some small batteries to make it self contained.

[instruct39]

also can i use something else other than soldering? like mabye a glue gun or something

[instruct39]

hey do u make the wires longer for the antennas, if so can u tell me how?

[stoker221]

hey can you use a square thingy for the abdomen

[nnygamer]

You can use any shape you want!

[Prosthetics01]

This is an awesome Instructable. Thankyou. You've given me something to do!

[one-lightbulb]

I love it! Great for all the unused pcbs at home.

[matroska]

Instant fav! I mean, this is just so fricking awesome! Recycling old bulky components in computers into cute little bugs, who saw that one coming? Kudos for this Ible!

[fender-electric-guitar]

I know right nobody was expecting computer parts made into bugs!!

[wrdplay]

If you burn yourself, put lavender oil on it. It helps, along with the ubiquitous solution of ice.

[linq008341]

so GOOD

[penguinlord1313]

all i can say is wow.. that looks awesome

[aterese]

clear nail polish could probably also work too?

[nnygamer]

I'm sure it would work fine, it might even be tougher and thicker then plain gloss paint.

[watermelonhead]

you should put these on your monitor, then tell someone, "i have a bug on my computer!!!" XD hahaha that's not that funny.

[NeonKnight13]

Any idea where your cousin got them?

[nnygamer]

My cousin used to install/upgrade LAN systems for companies but switched (fired.layed off) jobs. He kept all the old boards when he upgraded systems. Being a pack rat runs in my family.

[tinkernaut]

What a great idea! If you hate soldering, couldn't you use 5-minute epoxy to hold things together? I mean, there is no need to electrons to flow any more.

[nnygamer]

Epoxy could work but I'm not sure how well it might take any stress. Maybe twisting the parts together a bit then adding epoxy would be better. Once painted no one will know.

[amydearmas]

Another questions....Will the gloss seal in any problem with lead or other heavy metals?

[BOOJAN]

nice idea man...I like your Instructable...

[nnygamer]

Thanks

[Ben The Builder]

Also, do you think there's a way to fit an LED in there somewhere with a power source, maybe have it sit on perfboard?

[nnygamer]

I think you could, maybe by making a bug then bypassing any part with a small wire to get to the LED. A small battery could be used in the design too, painted to hide it along with a tiny switch hidden underneath.

[Ben The Builder]

I like these, are there other things you can get these out of, cause I do have old computer parts if neccesary but I'd rather keep those intact

[nnygamer]

Any old electronic device should have parts you can salvage. I took many from obsolete computer boards but some from dead monitors (just be careful to discharge the tube), old radios, even some remote controls

[vitruvian8807]

Hmm, very cool. I've got a few components lying around. Maybe I'll get around to trying this. Yeah, soldering irons are very hot. It's weird how even a quick tiny contact with it turns the skin white from the burn immediately. I once burn the palm of my hand with it, don't ask how, it was stupid.

[Shane1163]

I would suggest using lead-free solder.. that way you don't have to worry about anyone being exposed to lead while handling it!

[Shane1163]

I've got probably thousands of components I've pulled out of several electronics and computers.. then sold the circuit boards to a scrap yard for precious metal content.. (I think at the time like 45-80 some cents per pound depending on grade.. so you can make some money off this too!) I still have these components maybe I should make things like this out of them! Oh and Radio Shack has a special desoldering tool that has a bulb and the tip has a hole, you simply put it on the lead you want to remove the solder, it melts and and you suck it out.. much quicker, easier, and safer then a soldering iron. they don't cost too much either I'd recommend one of those if your going to be taking a lot out.

[Ghost Wolf]

what kind of gloss?

[nnygamer]

I used a water based gloss made for jewelry, but any type would work to seal the paint and solder.

[Ghost Wolf]

ok thanks

[ReCreate]

this would be good for some sort of school project

[Hacking Artist]

for the antennas i thought ethernet cable wire was cool cuz of the color all u have to do is slit it open and then take them out AWESOME IDEAS!!!

[raj.dabholkar]

WOW!.. How many man hours did you take to get all those out!.. But worth it I must say!

[nnygamer]

It did take quite a few hours but after I got rythem going and a simple technique each part took only 10-15 seconds. Luckily my cousin had given me a giant box of obsolete LAN boards and junction boxes. At least 4 had boards over 1' wide and almost 1.5' long with hundreds of resistors and capacitors.

[Pixel_Master]

Hey, great Instructable! I made one of my own, and he turned out pretty good, I think! Here's a pic:

[eeeXsmart]

great! i've made 4 already (sorry no pics);)

[eeeXsmart]

i got a pic, finally sorry they're a little had to see

[eeeXsmart]

here's more pics sorry again for the blurry pics these 2 were takin by a intergrated webcam in my sister's laptop hope u like them

[Gcass]

These would look great around the base of houseplants ect. I am going to make some more to brighten up the window in my computer workshop :)

[Gcass]

Thanks i love this! :) I stripped out an old computer power supply that was faulty, and a board from a hard drive controller.

[cotton]

the big eyes will bnyt and the first green one wil try and shock you

[jakesllama]

lol very cute!

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[nnygamer]

Looks good, you can smooth out the solder some after it's together by running the hot tip over the top of the blob.

[DELETED_Nicker987]

(removed by author or community request)

[nnygamer]

Yes I burnt my fingers a few times doing this, funny I did burn one yesterday cooking. Best thing I found is to keep ice on it as long as you can, I can't even feel the burn today.

[mtkolt]

LOVE it! What's the best way to source a bunch of old circuit boards? Would an electronics repair store be happy to hand over old parts they're just keeping around for free or a small fee? Actually, what would be the best way to get these parts for free?

[nnygamer]

You can try an electronics repair, computer store and ask if you can have some dead boards. Ask your friends if they have any old things they don't want. VCRs. phones, printers that ink costs more then a new printer, even my old toaster had a board.

[whitefish]

very cool! I like them alot!

[bleachworthy]

cool, my boss's wife does this with old sticks of RAM she just adds legs, faces and antennas, and we sell "computer viruses" for a buck each at the shop.

[Skip]

haha excellent! I was fully considering taking apart my old (working) computer to do this. I'll wait till it breaks, but this looks like heaps of fun.