Mikest picked up some conductive velco, he writes –
“It finally arrived! This stuff is expensive at 15$ a foot, but check it out, full current to a luxeon through 2 feet of hook-and-loop :) it has the neat property of acting as a resistor too… “ – Link.
Any makers use this stuff? Post up in the comments.
Related:
- EMF Safety Superstore- “Electromagnetic Field Detection & Protection” – Link.
16 thoughts on “Conductive velcro”
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The conductive velcro has a rather mild resistance of around 1.4 Ohm/in, however, the thread from lamé savers (http://members.shaw.ca/ubik/thread/index.html) starts to act as a reasonable resistor for LEDs at around a foot or so.
I wonder if this stuff could make an easier and more durable alternative than sewing with standard resistance wire to make heated clothing (eg. heated motorcycle jackets/boots).
Just using the fuzzy side should create comfortable padding and attaching a small hook piece of the hook side to the ends could make a nice quick-release connector. You’d have to think about the risk of short circuits though and have a current limiter or fuse somewhere.
Very cool! Looking through their fabrics, there’s also a “stretch conductive fabric”; in the specs it sez “Surface resistivity is
Grrr, I thought I fixed the ampersand in that:
Specs: Surface resistivity is less than 1 ohm/sq. (unstretched)
Sure–Syuzi Pakhchyan’s LED cuff uses conductive velcro as a switch to close the circuit (illuminating the LEDs) when the cuff’s being worn.
MissionControl: yup, i learned about the stuff from Syuzi at sparklab.la when they showed up at make faire last year. in addition to velcro, you can also use snaps, zippers, ribbon, and buckles as circuit junction points and switches.
Me and Mikey K have been using conductive velcro for a few years now. Here is a workshop we did to introduce people to conductive fabric, velcro, epoxy and paint in 2005 at Eyebeam. I also made a small single actuator toy car that would ride up the wall on velcro (hook on the wheel, velcro loop on the wall). Power was passed along the conductive velcro on the wall and wheel, through some makeshift brushes on the toy and to the motor. silly stuff. I’ll post a picture if I can find it.
Less EMF is the only retail source I’ve found and they deliver to NYC in 1 day.
Weird question, but could conductive velcro have any possible uses in the kitchen?