Easy Touch-Pad Stylus

There are many Instructables on how to make an Stylus. Well, I'd like to add to the pool and publish one myself. I saw how to do this from a video by Collin Cunningham from Makezine. It is his idea, not mine. I figured that it should be made into an Instructable. Enjoy!

Step 1: Video!

Step 2: Stuff

This is pretty simple. All you need is:

Materials:

-Cheap Pen
-Wire
-Conductive Foam. This is the most important piece! ( if you buy a kit from the makershed, adafruit, etc that comes with a micro-controller, the foam is the stuff that protects the chip pins.)

Tools:

-Tape
-Scissors
-(Opt) Wire Strippers

Step 3: Pen Prep

The main body of the stylus is a pen. Disassemble the pen completely. Throw away everything except the tube. My back end did not come off so I had to take scissors to it.

Step 4: Conductive Foam

Now that you have your pen ready, take your conductive foam and grab an object with a touch screen. Hold one end of the foam and try using it on the touch-screen. If it's conductive it'll work like your finger. If it works, cut a piece of foam slightly thicker than your pen tube.

Step 5: Prepare the Wire

This step is pretty easy. Strip the insulation off of the last 2" of the wire.

Step 6: Foam + Wire

Now that all your pieces are ready to go, it's time to assemble:

Thread the un-insulated wire though the top of the conductive foam. After that, tightly wrap the wire around the top of the foam.

Step 7: Into the Pen

Now take the foam-wire and thread it through the front of the pen tube. Pull the foam through as well but leave about a quarter inch on the outside.

Step 8: Wire...Again

After all that, it's time to strip all the rest of the wire that comes out the back-end of the tube. What you do now is secure the wire with a small strip of tape.

Step 9: Wire Wrap

Now what you do is wrap the un-insulated wire around the tube. Next, tape the wire down near the front of the pen to secure it.

Step 10: Foam...Again

Grab your scissors and carefully cut the foam's corners in such a way that it forms a dome.

Step 11: Clean Up

It's now a good time to clean up the mess you made...if any,

Step 12: Test

You are all done! It's time to test it out.

Step 13: Done!

Great job! This is a really fun and simple project. If you do end up building this, feel free to post pictures! I'd love to see them. When using, make sure that your finger(s) are in contact with the wire. This is essential! Have Fun!