Resistive e-Textile sensors. 2014, Till Bovermann and Mila Moisio This is a description on how to do basic resistive sensors (Button, Pressure, Position, Stretch) using conductive yarn and felt as basic materials.
The examples are inspired by and derived from the amazing work of Lara Grant and plusea (Thanks!). Materials where acquired from Plug and Wear and Mansteri. All examples use press studs for easy connection to existing circuits. In order to test them, it is good to prepare two stranded copper wires with a press stud part soldered to one end. For information on how to wire this up such that it can be used with an Arduino (and possibly the Mozzi sound synthesis library), see this overview on the Mozzi/Arduino hardware setup.
Button Button Is an area pressed? Material – felted wool, net lace, metal wool, sew-on nickel plated press studs, conductive thread.Tools – Felting needle, needle felting mat, scissors, sewing needle, multimeter Pressure Pressure Sensor Sensing the pressure on an area. Position Stretch. FELT-ME. Hand Card & Needle Felt Conductive Material. This will go over how to hand card metallic wool with sheep's wool (you can use any fiber you want however) in order to prep it for felting OR spinning.
Though you could spin this fiber, I will be going over how to felt it up into a solid textile using needle and wet felt techniques. Learning how to make your own conductive material can be very useful when you want more control over the end product. This material can be as thick or as thin as you want and you will have control over the amount of conductivity. Plus, once you have the conductive fiber mixed, you can get very creative with how you use and design with the fiber. You can create simple digital and analog switches are more complex circuits. Using hand carders to blend your wools together is a great a reliable way to ensure even distribution and control over the finished mixed grade. This tutorial goes over option 2) stay tuned for the other two! HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT. Here is the documentation of my first experience on wet needle felting.
My friend who does a lot of felting showed me how to do it. It seems that there are many ways to felt, so this is not the only way, but it works fine. Process We used felting wool (you can purchase it at craft stores). It comes with many colors.. find your favorite combination. Felted Ball Inclinometer Part 1. Creating Felt Sensors. Felt sensors are soft sensors that incorporate conductive elements such as conductive thread or steel or bronze wool so that current can be passed.
Felt sensors can then take advantage of the craft of felt making and its sculptural properties while allowing this very old medium to be adapted for more modern gains. Survey of Techniques Felt is the interlocking of animal fibers into a non-woven material or fabric. ETextiles: Needle Felting with Conductive Roving. Needle Felting Conductive Fabric. Felted Terrain. Research: felting conductive threads. Research on different conductive threads, within felted wool.
Goal Checking if and which conductive thread survives felting and can be used making “drawings” by discoloring of thermochromatic inkt applying current to the thread. Felting The idea is to insert the threads between the layers of wet felting. Let it dry, measure the resistance, dye the felt in thermo-chromatic ink and check the resistance again. Data: felt from New Zealand 14.70 euro per kg felting: 6 thin layers: three thin layers – layer of threads – three thin layers thickness layer of felt: 2.5 mm wet felting with warm water and soap, 30 minutes conductive threads: length around 10 inch = 25 centimeters Room temperature during heating: 20 degrees C. Measurements of resistance after felting and drying (checking if the wire is still conductive) Measurements of resistance after applying Thermo ink conclusion: the resistance after felting and applying the dye is not really changed for any of the conductive threads. 1.felting.