Introduction: Creative Switch

Materials

  1. Wire (Black and Red)
  2. 6 LED's
  3. 2 Lithium batteries
  4. Lithium battery holder
  5. Soldering wire
  6. Soldering iron
  7. Wood
  8. Drill
  9. Paint
  10. Tip Cleaner
  11. Soldering Iron Holder
  12. Styrofoam
  13. Copper fabric
  14. Jumper Cables
  15. Tape

Step 1: Brainstorming

The image above is the process behind the execution of the circuit. In order to see what would work best when making the circuit, I tried out both series and parallel. There is a diagram as to how to build a pressure sensor as well.

Step 2: Parallel Circuit

Throughout trial and error, the images showcase a parallel circuit on a breadboard. The LED's are aligned with positives and negatives down the column. The jumper wires help connect the LED's across the divot of the breadboard.

Step 3: Making the Creative Switch

The jumper cables pictured above the breadboard help close the circuit. The creative switch was made from a rectangle of styrofoam and two copper squares taped on top of the styrofoam. The jumper cables also represent the red and black wire for when it comes to soldering the final piece. The pressure sensor works by folding the foam rectangle making the copper rectangles touch each other creating the flow of electricity.

Step 4: Soldering

The image above shows an LED and a black wire that is being soldered. The idea behind soldering is to connect wires without disrupting the electrical current in a circuit. When soldering the wires together, all of the positive legs of the LED show align with the red wire and all the negative legs of the LED should align with the black wire. Each leg of the LED's should have two wires soldered on and leaving the top LED with just one wire on each leg.

Step 5: Final Wire Placement

The image above shows how both the positive wires from the ends of the battery holder and LED are going to be connected to either side of the pressure sensor. The black wires will be soldered on together to close off the negative side of the circuit. When the person or object folds the pressure sensor, it will close off the circuit making all of the LED's light up.

Step 6: Finished Circuit

The finished circuit should look like the image above. The little paint bottle is folding the sensor and is helping with the flow of electricity.