5. E-Textiles and Wearables I

Inspiration

Vocab

Helpful videos

Multimeter

AC = Alternative current (current we have at home) -> Electrons travel from + to - and - to +

DC = Direct current (current from adaptator) -> Electrons only travel from + to -

• Battery is measured in DC

Polarity = sense of current flow

To check continuity = Plug the aligator pince to the cables of a circuit to see if it is well connceted and that the current flow, it will make a bip sound

  • To measure parrallel circuits, you put your aligator pince in parrallel
  • To measure serie circuits, you put your aligator pince in serie
  • To measure ampere you need to your circuit to be close
  • You can measure your resistor with a multimeter or with the color code

Arduino

Arduino basics

  1. Download Arduino
  2. Connect to the computer -> Tools -> Board Arduino -> Genuino Uno -> Port USB -> USB.modem
  3. To verify that the Arduino is connected: File -> Exemples -> Basics -> Blink / New window open -> Verify -> Upload (led on board blink)
  4. When you wrtie ''' // ''' it is just a note for you, it does not count as a code
  5. To change the speed of the blink, change the delay time (in miliseconds)

To change ground from board:

  1. Take one cable and connect from GND from Arduino board to - from protboard
  2. Connect another wire to 5V front Arduino board to + from protoboard
  3. See datasheet for red ed (1.8-2.2), change and connect to 3V to lower voltage power
  4. Add resistence to lower voltage from 3.3V to 2.2V
  5. Put resistence in 2 different horizontale lines
  6. Led + in 1 horizontale with resistence
  7. Led - in other horizontale
  8. Take wire and put in + to resistence. Another wire with led to _, led lights up

To connect led to a pin:

  1. + wire (next to resistence) connect to pin 7
  2. - wire (next to led) connect to GND
  3. In computer tell Arduino that the led will connect to pin 7 -Int. led = 7 -PinMode (LED, OUTPUT) -Digital Write (LED, HIGH) -Digital write (LED, LOW)
  4. Upload

To fade led:

  1. Exemple -> Basic -> Fade
  2. Change your int. LED = ? (Analog has to have ~)
  3. Upload

Add a button to the circuit:

  1. Connect button in the middle
  2. Connect wire GND to pin 8 to 1 side button
  3. Connect 5V to +
  4. Connect GND to -
  5. Connect other side button to +
  6. Connect resistence other side button to whatever
  7. Connect wire to other resistence side to -
  8. Connect - led side to - ground
  9. Change your pins to correct pin N.

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Sensors

Analog vs. digital

Analog: Sensor, we can use resistence to get a broader range of values. By allowing more current to get through, you can change the brightness of a LED, the frequency of the sound, or the speed of a motor.

Digital: Switch is a break in a circuit. Since the circuit is not complete, no electricity can flow to the components.

Types of sensors

Switches:

  • Momentary (Push buttons), stays open as long as you hold them by pressing conductive materials into contact.

  • Toogle, press, zip, slide,... 2 pieces of conductive material together.

  • Tilt, a conductive bead or pompom makes contact with conductive fabric patches.

  • Stroke, close the circuit by pressing conductive material into contact.

Sensors:

  • Pressure, when pressed the resistence decreases allowing more electricty to flow through the circuit. Use this to track pressure of weight.

  • Bend, resistance decreasys as bent and more contact is made. For measuring joint movement.

  • Potentiometer, adjust resistence by connecting conductive and resistive materail through a wiper at different point of the circuit. (the farther away the more resistance)

  • Stretch, the more a resistive material is stretched, the more its resistance will decrease because it has more surface area to cover.

  • Accelerometer, the weight at the end pulls and stretches the crochet and knitted structure as it gets accelerated.

Materials

  • Copper wire

    • Comes in various sizes
    • Insulated: You can use sand paper to make it conductive
    • Use in the bottom bobbin

  • Karl grim

    • Thread is soldable
    • It is like a cable (super conductable)

  • Eonyx stretchy fabric

    • Can handle heat
    • Very good conductivity

  • Conductive wool

    • It works like a sensor by itself as when you press it the OHM change

  • Nitinol

    • Thread that make fabric change shape with heat

• Conductive fabrics are also antibacterial and are used a lot as a electromagnetic shield.

• To see if a material is conductive take a multimeter and touch the material with your pince and it will bip.

Properties to consider will choosing a conductive material

  • Resistance
  • Stretchiness
  • Solderability
  • Feel
  • Substrate + Productive process
  • Thickness (for thread: can you put in machine?)

Where to find the materials

Bekaert

Adafruit

China emi shielding

Foster Rohner

Samples

Sample 1 - Button

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Sample 2 - Zipper

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Glove project

This is the circuit embroidery for the digital embroidery machine that I designed with the program PULSE.

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