Electronics Production
This is a continuation of the PCB project that merges ancient Egyptian architectural design with modern electronics, transforming the layout of the Medinet Habu temple into a functioning printed circuit board (PCB). By mimicking the temple's structure, the board visually represents how ancient Egyptians viewed their temples as energy-conducting structures, while also functioning as a live wire detection system with LED indicators.
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The Background
Ancient Egyptian temples like Medinet Habu were centers of ritual and economic energy. Their grid-like, organized layouts resemble the structured paths in modern PCBs. In ancient times, the temples were believed to capture and channel divine energy into their courtyards and chambers. This project leverages that concept, mirroring the flow of spiritual energy with electrical currents flowing through a modern PCB. The pylons, courtyards, and chambers in the Medinet Habu plan easily translate into areas for electronic components like resistors, LEDs, and traces, forming a functional system while symbolizing ancient energy flow.
The Works
From Design to Production
Initial Design and Revisions: The initial PCB design was created by translating the Medinet Habu temple layout into KiCAD, capturing the detailed lines of the temple's plan. The design was first etched into a copper board. However, upon printing the first iteration, I realized that some traces were too thin and poorly aligned to support practical circuit functionality. I had to redesign and thicken the traces for better connectivity.
Reprinting and Soldering Issues: After revising the design, I printed the second version of the PCB, which corrected earlier issues. This phase involved precision soldering of the components, including the LED indicators and power input connectors. However, while using paste soldering for the LEDs, I encountered a problem: a short circuit resulted in a blown fuse. This was caused by excess solder, which created unintended connections between the traces.
Power Supply Adjustment: Originally, I had planned for the PCB to be powered by the energy detected from live wires in the environment, emulating the way the Medinet Habu temple was believed to channel divine energy. However, due to limitations in detecting live wire energy and the unavailability of a buzzer component in the workshop, I had to modify the design to use a direct battery power source. This compromise allowed the LEDs to function as intended but fell short of the original ambition to power the board entirely from ambient energy.
The Concept vs the Outcome
Final Soldering and Assembly: The final assembly included careful soldering of the remaining components, ensuring that the LED indicators lit up correctly when powered. Although the buzzer component was not available, the visual feedback through the LEDs provided enough functionality to demonstrate the energy flow concept. The LEDs successfully illuminated, showcasing the flow of "energy" through the modern circuit representation of the ancient temple.
The project aimed to merge ancient architecture with modern technology. The initial concept, as seen on the left, followed the temple’s layout closely, with the goal of creating a live wire detector that harnessed ambient energy, much like the temple channeled spiritual power. The design promised both functionality and aesthetic appeal, with clean, uniform connections. In reality, practical challenges emerged. The intricate layout made soldering difficult, especially for LEDs and connectors, and paste soldering caused short circuits, requiring rework. The original plan to power the board through ambient energy detection had to be abandoned, leading to the use of battery power instead. The missing buzzer also limited the board’s full functionality. While the final PCB remains visually faithful to the temple's layout, the wiring lacks the precision of the original concept, reflecting the difficulty of translating an architectural plan into a functional PCB. The project underscores the challenge of balancing design with practical electronics.
The Final Product
Despite the setbacks and necessary revisions, the final PCB successfully captures the aesthetic and symbolic nature of Medinet Habu while functioning as a simple energy-detecting circuit. The illuminated LEDs represent the energy channels of the temple, and the copper traces mimic the spiritual pathways that ancient Egyptians believed would flow through their sacred sites.
This project highlights both the beauty of ancient Egyptian architecture and the complexity of modern electronic design. It was a learning process involving both creativity and engineering, combining the ancient concept of channeling energy with the precision required for building functional modern circuits. While not everything went according to the initial plan, the final result still aligns closely with the project's vision, as seen in the photos throughout the process.