Step 4: Sew your stitches

Take the conductive thread single and stitch into the neoprene from the back so that the knot stays on the outside of the sensor. Now stitch your stitches but there is no need to go all the way through the neoprene so that they are visible and vulnerable on the outside. You can dive into the neoprene and at the same time this isolates the conductive thread. When you have finished you stitches you will want to bring the thread to the patch of conductive fabric that is fused to the tab. If you plan ahead you can aim to end close by. With about 5 to 7 stitches attach the conductive thread to this patch and then cut it.

Do the same on the other side of neoprene.
hi there, I've SEM project coming soon.. so my project gonna be a math mechanical compases where it can draw while measuring the angle at once.. can I put a sensor on it?
<p>hi can we use to find pressure of pen grip by win ding it with the pen </p>
Greetings Plusea, <br> <br>Interesting post, but I was wondering, can this sensor be used to light a set of LED's? <br> <br>Thanks in advance.
Just to get a better idea of what you're trying to do, what exactly are you trying to do? Different pressure turns on different lights? What is your exact idea for a project?
Cool stuff. I was wondering if you could rig one of these in such a way that it could act as a switch for a mechanical device. Something that will allow you to say...trigger a compression spring (depending on the amount of pressure applied and time elapsed). Thanks!
It definitely sounds possible, but not without a microcontroller like an arduino. This is a analog sensor and arduino had a ton of examples with similar sensors if you aren't too familiar with them.
<p>Hi I am looking into doing a project with sensors like these which type of audino did you use? or is there another alternative taht can be used?</p>
I like think this is great and I think it looks cool aswell. <br>Can I ask what program you are using on your computer in the video?
&gt;&gt; <a href="http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=1118" rel="nofollow">http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=1118</a>
Hello Plusea<br><br>Is that possible to measure big load in this system?<br><br>Thanks<br>
Hey there,<br>I was wondering if you were going to create a number of smallish, closely spaced sensor buttons that are arduino interfaced, would you recommend using the conductive thread method as per here, or the conductive fabric sensor as in your other instructable? which would be more flexible and which more durable? <br><br>Really cool instructable.
whether you choose conductive fabric or thread influences the sensitivity of the sensor. the larger the conductive surface (fabric = large, thread = minimized) the more sensitive it is. i would recommend using thread. but fabric will also work.
&nbsp;it is really a gr8 work<br /> i want to ask about how to make a pressure sensor to stop an alarm<br /> My idea is to make a carpet with an alarm ( it's really hard to wake up everyday at 5:00 am to go to college) and this alarm will not stop unless i'm standing on this carpet<br /> <br /> hope that someone can help me through this quickly :)<br />
yes, the pressure sensor might be good for this project because you differentiate between pressing down on the carpet with your hand or standing on it with your full body weight. if you wanted to just push on the carpet with you hand, then you could construct a fabric on/off button. with the pressure sensor you'll need to set a threshold, above (or bellow) which it will stop the alarm. and you can set this threshold to be for full body weight. the velostat sensors are good for this.<br />
&nbsp;thanks for your reply
It's impressive and i would love to try.. but may I ask..for stretch conductive fabric...do I have to order online only or is there available in the market??? <br />
i only know of online distributors in the usa, uk and italy. but all of them will ship abroad.<br /> lessemf.com<br /> mutr.co.uk<br /> plugandwear.com<br />
can this pressure sensor be "inlarged" like the one in your other instructable? how strong is this electricity conductive thread? Can it be used for something like a trip wire? I think these 'ibles are great, and they help open the door of imagination with this kind of thing From tripwires to 'whiteboard'-like programs, these ibles are the place to look for ideas!!
for sure it can. you just need to find a nice way to sew the stitches of conductive thread to cover the surface area you want to be sensitive. see the following JoyPad as an example:<br/>&gt;&gt; <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/SZED352FC2EFZ6V/">http://www.instructables.com/id/SZED352FC2EFZ6V/</a><br/><br/>not sure it the thread is strong enough for trip wire. it does not rip to easily but it does. you can get stronger conductive thread from lame life saver in canada:<br/>&gt;&gt; <a rel="nofollow" href="http://members.shaw.ca/ubik/thread/">http://members.shaw.ca/ubik/thread/</a><br/>or in the uk from mutr:<br/>&gt;&gt; <a rel="nofollow" href="http://mutr.co.uk/">http://mutr.co.uk/</a><br/><br/>what are you devising?<br/>the best solution is always to just try it out.<br/>
Halo Plusea<br /> Can I talk to you on the phone <br />
im going to try to make a pressure pad that fits under a carpet that is 186<em>x29</em><br/>would it be necessary to make multiple 'contact points?'<br/>if so, can i connect all the positives to one wire and negatives to another safely?<br/>i really appreciate all of you help :)<br/>
inches or cm? multiple contact points might be good and yes, they can all be connected together safely. the conductive thread can't take more current than that of about three 1.5V AA batteries. with a 9V battery it tends to smoke. instead of conductive thread you can also use aluminum foil...
Could this be modified into a normally closed sensor so that it senses when pressure is removed?
using a microcontroller you could program it to react to a decrease in pressure no problem. but to have the resistance decrease as pressure is applied - you'd have to come up with some kind of physical contraption that flips the application of pressure maybe.... or find a material that reacts opposite to velostat. why do you need it to be this way?
What I actually need the device to act as a simple NC on/off switch.
well if you need a switch, then maybe the fabric button is more suitable:<br/>&gt;&gt; <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=48">http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=48</a><br/><br/>right now i have no ideas of how to make it into a NC switch though.....<br/>
I'm not familiar with the various qualities of neoprene offered on the SedoChemicals site. What quality do you suggest?
on the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://sedochemicals.com/page.php?content=product&subcontent=data&curr_lang=en&curr_data_prod=ls">www.sedochemicals.com</a> website click on &quot;product&quot; --&gt; &quot;technical data / neoprene&quot; and then they have links to all the different qualities. <br/>LS is super soft and HHS is much tougher and less &quot;squishy&quot; but still quite soft. S and HS are in between. NF i have never tried and W just means that is their white neoprene.<br/><br/>for my sensors i have been working with S and HS mainly. but LS and HHS would work too. hope this helps.<br/>
Your explanation is far more useful than the tech specs given that I'm new to neoprene, thanks! I'm assuming that you are using nylon for the lining, is that correct?
great. it also took me samples of all the qualities to really know the differences by feel. yes, i order my neoprene with "nylon/polyesterjersey standard" lining on both sides.
I love your projects. You've totally inspired me to venture into the soft sensor world too. Here's a video of a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://flickr.com/photos/jaynev/3161920394/">Fleece Bunny Pressure Sensor</a> I just made today. I'm thinking of making a bunch of different animals. <br/><br/>I made the little sensor and then a second &quot;jacket&quot; to put over it to cover the exposed thread (fleece isn't thick enough to thread inside). And so you couldn't see the two tabs separately. <br/><br/>Thanks for posting this instructable!<br/>
Thanks so much for the comment. I saw your video and it is very cool to see my Instructable realized by somebody else!!! Felt might be another material that is thick enough to sew inside, though your jacket solution also does the trick. Any ideas on what you might use your pressure sensitive animals for, other than LEDs? I'm very much looking fwd to following your works. All the best!
I always enjoy seeing other people's versions on my stuff too = )<br/><br/>I'm kind of interested in getting the different animals to create drawings in processing (so pressing the bunny draws different sized bunnies depending on how hard you're pressing). But I'm pretty new at all this and still have to learn how to get processing to even read from the arduino.<br/><br/>Another idea I want to try out is making a pressure sensitive yoga mat. I'm not sure what it would control, maybe some lights or drawing or music. I just think it would be fun to use yoga/pilates to make stuff. I'd love to hear any tips/ideas you might have for it.<br/>
Hey, yes, nice ideas!<br/><br/>I actually made a pair of slippers with these pressure sensors embedded and then wrote a little drawing application. reading the analog input from the arduino into processing is super simple and leads to lots of ideas. here is the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Joy-Slippers-Version-2/">JoySlippers Instructable</a> and in step 6 there are links to downloading the arduino and processing code that i used for my simple drawing application. <br/><br/>When i showed the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://joyslippers.plusea.at/">JoySlippers</a> at the maker fair last april, a lot of people said that it would be a great idea for visualizing yoga moves.... but i don't do yoga myself, so i never picked up on it and i'm definitely interested to see what you can make out of it!<br/><br/>i'm also interested in sound output, because visuals always require you to look at something. though i'm more of a visual person myself and have never really worked with sound before....<br/><br/>keep me updated:-)<br/>
hahahah, lol, all the related ibles belong to <em>you</em>!<br/><br/>and they're all featured....<br/><br/>*jealoussyyyy*<br/>
Oh wow. probably because i tag a lot of them with similar words. Instructables is such a great place to post ideas and get good feedback. I think that is why i ended up posting four of them this weekend:-) because i don't know where else people look for these kinds of things?
huh, yeah, i doubt people often search &quot;fabric sensors&quot; on google...<br/><br/>but since this has been featured, more people will know about it!<br/><br/>i'm currently working on a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_gun">coil gun</a>, and will post an ible... <sup>this could take a while...</sup><br/>
Also all but one is featured.
yeah, impressive...
"fabric sensors" on google... You would be suprised. There is a massive craft following.
oh my...
WoW!! You continue to amaze me. Nice work once again. You have inspired me to contribute to this new fabric following. I'm almost finished my first effort. Thankyou.

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