DIY Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR)

Step 1 Materials

Tools

• Soldering iron
• Hot glue gun
• Knife/razor
• Wire cutter

Components

• Solder
• Hot glue
• One-sided copper PCB
• Conductive foam
• Wire

The foam

Conductive foam is what microcontrollers generally come packaged in. If you've received little ATmega microcontrollers or PICs, sometimes they'll be surrounded by conductive foam inside a little case or box. Not all conductive foam is created equal: some of it bounces back into shape faster than others. If you use PIC foam to make your FSR, it will respond quickly, but if you use ATmega foam will take a second to release. The fact that this FSR has a visible deformation is the primary difference from other FSRs.