Taipei, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The semiconductor industry is Taiwan's pillar industry, and a large number of integrated circuit boards are eliminated here every year. Pieces of ordinary discarded circuit boards, through the skillful hands of Taiwanese designer Zhan Lingjun, can be "transformed" into mini robots, which is quite magical.
Zhan Lingjun, a cultural and creative designer from Yilan County, Taiwan, has been engaged in the design industry for 17 years, and has been focusing on "turning waste into treasure", using electronic components such as resistors, capacitors and exclusions on scrapped circuit boards to make mini robots. "Because there is a layer of plastic outside the resistance and capacitor, recycling is very troublesome, it is difficult to degrade when it is lost, and I did this with the concept of environmental protection at the beginning." She said.
The picture shows Zhan Lingjun introducing products to customers. Courtesy of respondents
Capacitors, resistors, these electronic components with "mechanical wind" are easy to think of robots, and Zhan Lingjun hopes to change people's inherent impression of robots. However, it is not easy to make a robot with both "masculinity" and "cute pet state".
To get a circuit board, first of all, the above available components should be manually disassembled, the electrolyte inside should be cleaned, and then cleaned, polished and other processes, arranged and combined, and finally fixed with screws. Zhan Lingjun never draws a design drawing, nor deliberately looks for a certain material, until the processed components are placed in front of her, she will think about how to create without destroying the structure of the elements themselves.
"Before they were made, I couldn't imagine what they looked like, so it was difficult to have a 'same model'. Every robot is unique. Zhan Lingjun said.
These purely handmade robots, the small one is only the size of a fingernail, the large one is only three or five centimeters, but a robot can use up to more than ten electronic components, and the production time is usually from five hours. What is rare is that the components are preserved to the greatest extent, and the parameters such as voltage on them are still clearly visible. The "neck" and "joints" of the robot are fixed with screw locks in order to allow the robot to move freely.
After becoming more and more skilled in craftsmanship, Zhan Lingjun added more ingenuity to her creation, or integrated hardware to increase hardness, or embellished crystals to be more delicate... If the "masculinity" of the robot lies in its "mechanical wind", then the "cute pet state" comes from the imagination of the designer, each with its own story. Zhan Lingjun, 42 years old this year, was very excited when she told the guests a story.
Two minions-like robots with wings on their backs can stand on one foot because of their special design, and the "two little ones" are crooked to make sumo wrestling moves; a few capacitors are slightly sorted out to become several drum kits, plus a few "singing assistants" to form a band on the circuit board... Whimsical ideas like these bring customers into a childlike world that people can't help but love.
The picture shows the "band on the circuit board" created by Zhan Lingjun. Courtesy of respondents
Three years after entering the industry, Zhan Lingjun opened a cultural and creative shop in the Red House of Taipei's landmark Ximen, named "Picobaby", and accumulated many repeat customers over the years. She also opened a DIY parent-child workshop to guide children to learn handicrafts.
Zhan Lingjun said that although due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the passenger flow has not been as good as before, but there is more time to concentrate on creation. All robots can be equipped with necklaces or brooches, which are favored by young people.
Among the various robots in the store, Zhan Lingjun's favorite is her "debut" - the first robot made of capacitors and micro switches. Compared with other robots, this "square head and square brain" little guy is cute and slightly rough, and few people ask about it. But Zhan Lingjun said that it has healing powers, "these robots start from this look, little by little accepted and liked."
From the "mechanical wind" robot that was not optimistic at the beginning to the refreshing "cute pet" robot, the designer has poured more than ten years of creative enthusiasm in the middle, and the small shop "Picobaby" has been in the "cradle of cultural creativity" Ximen Red House for 14 years.
In addition to repeat customers in Taiwan, Zhan Lingjun has also accumulated many fans from mainland China, Hong Kong and as far away as Singapore. Nowadays, the studio can provide a custom service with no design fee, but it is still only a couple. "I just want to do one thing well, and it never changes."
Zhan Lingjun once opened a store in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, but later closed due to the epidemic. However, she has always been concerned about the development of cultural creativity in the mainland, and has also gone to Beijing many times to participate in cultural and creative exhibitions and do research and exchanges, and Wudaoying and 798 Art District are her frequent places.
"There are more and more young designers on the mainland, and their knowledge and ideas are not available in our generation, and I especially hope to share them." With fresh sparks, you can inspire more ideas. Zhan Lingjun said.