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Using conductive thread, Velostat and neoprene, sew your own fabric bend sensor.
You can now buy these handmade fabric bend sensors via Etsy. Although it is much cheaper to make your own, purchasing one will help me support my prototyping and development costs >>
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5178109
This bend sensor actually reacts (decreases in resistance) to pressure, not specifically to bend. But because it is sandwiched between two layers of neoprene (rather sturdy fabric), pressure is exerted while bending, thus allowing one to measure bend (angle) via pressure. Make sense?
Also see Fabric bend sensor Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fabric_bend_sensor/
MATERIALS:
The materials used for the sensor are basically cheap and off-the-shelf. There are other places that sell conductive fabrics and Velostat, but LessEMF is a convenient option for both, especially for shipping within North America.
Velostat is the brand name for the plastic bags in which sensitive electronic components are packaged in. Also called anti-static, ex-static, carbon based plastic (So you can also cut up one of these black plastic bags if you have one at hand. But caution! Not all of them work!)
To make the sensor fully fabric one can use EeonTex conductive textile (www.eeonyx.com) instead of the plastic Velostat. Contact Eeonyx for details on free samples or for small purchases of their fabrics.
The exact neoprene i used for the bend sensor is:
quality: HS
thickness: 1,5 mm
both sides: nylon- / polyesterjersey (standard)
one side: grey, other side: neon green
but you can defiantly try and experiment with different qualities and thicknesses!
also with different materials. i can imagine that foam rubber and similar will work.
one good thing about the neoprene is that it has jersey fused to either side which gives it a nice feel against the skin but also makes sewing easier, as stitches otherwise rip through the plain neoprene.
- Conductive thread from www.sparkfun.com ( also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/conductive_thread)
- Neoprene from www.sedochemicals.com
- Stretch conductive fabric from www.lessemf.com (also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/stretch_conductive_fabric)
- Fusible interfacing from local fabric store
- Regular sewing thread from local fabric store
- Velostat by 3M from www.lessemf.com (also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/velostat_resistive_plastic)
- Machine poppers/snaps from local fabric store
TOOLS:
- Pen and paper
- Ruler
- Fabric and paper scissors
- Iron
- Sewing needle
- Popper/snap machine (hand held or hammer and simple version)
- Possibly pliers for undoing poppers
You can now buy these handmade fabric bend sensors via Etsy. Although it is much cheaper to make your own, purchasing one will help me support my prototyping and development costs >>
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5178109
This bend sensor actually reacts (decreases in resistance) to pressure, not specifically to bend. But because it is sandwiched between two layers of neoprene (rather sturdy fabric), pressure is exerted while bending, thus allowing one to measure bend (angle) via pressure. Make sense?
Also see Fabric bend sensor Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Fabric_bend_sensor/
MATERIALS:
The materials used for the sensor are basically cheap and off-the-shelf. There are other places that sell conductive fabrics and Velostat, but LessEMF is a convenient option for both, especially for shipping within North America.
Velostat is the brand name for the plastic bags in which sensitive electronic components are packaged in. Also called anti-static, ex-static, carbon based plastic (So you can also cut up one of these black plastic bags if you have one at hand. But caution! Not all of them work!)
To make the sensor fully fabric one can use EeonTex conductive textile (www.eeonyx.com) instead of the plastic Velostat. Contact Eeonyx for details on free samples or for small purchases of their fabrics.
The exact neoprene i used for the bend sensor is:
quality: HS
thickness: 1,5 mm
both sides: nylon- / polyesterjersey (standard)
one side: grey, other side: neon green
but you can defiantly try and experiment with different qualities and thicknesses!
also with different materials. i can imagine that foam rubber and similar will work.
one good thing about the neoprene is that it has jersey fused to either side which gives it a nice feel against the skin but also makes sewing easier, as stitches otherwise rip through the plain neoprene.
- Conductive thread from www.sparkfun.com ( also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/conductive_thread)
- Neoprene from www.sedochemicals.com
- Stretch conductive fabric from www.lessemf.com (also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/stretch_conductive_fabric)
- Fusible interfacing from local fabric store
- Regular sewing thread from local fabric store
- Velostat by 3M from www.lessemf.com (also see http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/resource/velostat_resistive_plastic)
- Machine poppers/snaps from local fabric store
TOOLS:
- Pen and paper
- Ruler
- Fabric and paper scissors
- Iron
- Sewing needle
- Popper/snap machine (hand held or hammer and simple version)
- Possibly pliers for undoing poppers
thank you!