LilyPad Technology

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Sara Procter

LilyPad is a wearable e-textile technology developed by Leah Buechley and cooperatively designed by Leah and SparkFun. Each LilyPad was creatively designed to have large connecting pads to allow them to be sewn into clothing. Various input, output, power, and sensor boards are available. They’re even washable, but remove batteries.

For more information about the LilyPad technology click here.

db877d5ffa9027dd7d4e7fe5a31d870e.image.538x354

Lilypad LED White (5pcs)

Information

Simple very bright
250mcd
White LED LilyPad.

Quantity : 5

08464-06-L__95513__57421.1368471061.1280.1280

Lilypad light sensor

With exposure to daylight, this sensor will output 5V. Covering the sensor with your hand, the sensor will output 0V. In a normal indoor lighting situation, the sensor will output from 1 to 2V.

Information:

20mm outer diameter
Thin 0.8mm PCB
Light sensor that outputs an analog value from 0 to 5V.

Quantity: 1

08466-01__48820__87221.1368471060.1280.1280

Lilypad power supply

This board was designed to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. Pop in a AAA battery, flip the power switch, and you will have a 5V supply to power your LilyPad circuit.

Information

56x26mm
Thin 0.8mm PCB
Good up to 200mA. Short circuit protected.
This board has AAA battery clips but can use an input from 1.2V to 5V.
Our lithium polymer batteries are a good, rechargeable alternative.

Quantity : 1

temp1__86472__46962.1368471065.1280.1280

LilyPad Temperature Sensor

The MCP9700 is a small thermistor type temperature sensor. Doing an analog to digital conversion on the signal line will allow you to establish the local ambient temperature. Detect physical touch based on body heat and ambient conditions with this small sensor.

Information

20mm outer diameter
Thin 0.8mm PCB
This sensor will output 0.5V at 0 degrees C, 0.75V at 25 C, and 10mV per degree C.

Quantity : 1

09267-1__73142__15320.1368471016.1280.1280

LilyPad Accelerometer ADXL335

This is a three axis accelerometer for the LilyPad system. Based on the ADXL335 MEMS accelerometer from Analog Devices, the LilyPad Accelerometer can detect joint movement as well as inclination and vibration.

The ADXL335 outputs a 0V to 3V analog signal on each of the X, Y, and Z axis. You will need to convert this analog voltage to a gravity amount and use trigonometry to calculate a true ‘angle’. If you are not looking for tilt, it is very easy to use this sensor for basic motion sensing.

Information

20mm outer diameter
Thin 0.8mm PCB

Quantity : 1

11008_01__05031__72080.1368472156.1280.1280

LilyPad Vibe Board

Apply 5V and be shaken by this small, but powerful vibration motor. Works great as an physical indicator without notifying anyone but the wearer. This version uses a surface mount motor which is less likely to be damaged during use.

Information

20mm outer diameter
Thin 0.8mm PCB

Quantity : 1

Arduino LilyPad USB – ATmega32U4

An updated version the Simple board to create the LilyPad USB by replacing the classic ATMega328 with the new ATMega32U4. Not only does that mean that it’s running a variation of the latest and greatest bootloader, but it also means no more FTDI Basic. The only extra piece of hardware you need to program the LilyPad USB is a micro-USB cable, since the new IC has built-in USB support. The LilyPad USB is also officially supported in the Arduino IDE as of version 1.0.2.

Just like the LilyPad Simple, this board features a JST socket so you can directly connect a Li-Po battery for power and an on-board power switch so you can turn it off when you’re not feeling particularly blinky. These boards were designed to streamline your next sewable project by keeping things simple and giving you more room to work while eliminating the need to sew a power supply. The LiPo battery is even rechargeable through the board, no more special external LiPo chargers are required.

Information

50mm outer diameter
Thin 0.8mm PCB

Quantity : 1

Muscle Wire

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Sara Procter

Muscle Wire 150um dia 1m 180-752

Muscle Wires are thin strands of a nickel tritium alloy called flexion – it is a type of shape memory. At room temperature the wire is easily stretched by a small force. When they are heated by an electric current they return they return to the pre-stretched size, contracting with a usable amount of force. Could be used for a light-weight actuators and power switches requiring low voltages that can be used in conjunction with control boxes.

An example of this includes the Basic Lever Arm. When you press the switch it lets the power through the muscle wire, heating it causing it to contact and raise the lever to lift the weight. When the power is removed the muscle wire cools and relaxes and the weight returns it to the starting position.

Information

Flexinol wires contract by 3-5% irrespective of gauge size.
Flexinol wire is rated at >1,000,000 cycles when used as per manufacturer’s
instructions.
Flexinol wires contract very rapidly – as fast as you can heat them.
Wires relax more slowly – it is dependant on ambient cooling conditions.
Wires must be pulled back to their original, relaxed condition by external
means eg. sping, gravity, rubber band.

For more information click here.

Kit

Muscle Wire 150um dia 1m 180-752 (3 metres available)
Muscle Wire 100um dia 1m 180-751 (3 metres available)

Wearable Computing

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Sara Procter

916394b2277e46afc35b57de65229926.image.446x354

Soft potentiometer kit

This is a soft potentiometer that is perfect for controlling a flashing LED or the tone of a buzzer. It is compatible with Arduino inputs. The kit includes 1 meter of knitted conductive tape and a metal ring.

Information

Resistance of 9kOkm circa 50cm
Made of polyester with a stainless steel metal ring
Conductive once sewn
Not solderable, electrically insulated or knittable

: Knitted coated copper tape (1 linear metre)

This is a small conductive tape that is only 9mm wide. It is very flexible and easy to cut with scissors, it can be sewn with a standard sewing machine.

Information

Resistance of 107 Ohm/m
Made of coated copper fine wire of 112 micron.
Can be sewn with sewing machine
Can be easily welded, just solder it as a standard non coated copper wire.

10056-03b__38349__04075.1368471112.1280.1280

Ripstop conductive fabric

This is a conductive knit fabric for use in e-textiles. It is similar in feel to a nylon ripstop material. This is a great add-on to any LilyPad project.

Information

Easily sew electronic features into your next project
It is highly conductive with a surface resistivity of < 1 ohm/sq.
Great for use with the LilyPad
Dimensions: 12 x 13″ (304.8 x 330.2 mm)

09769-02__54892__77277.1368471718.380.500

Conductive Fabric – 12″x13″ MedTex130

This is a conductive knit fabric for use in e-textiles. It is silver-plated nylon that is stretchy in both directions. This is a great add-on to any LilyPad project. Medtex 130 Ag Nylon stretch. It is a bit thinner than our Medtex 180.

Information

It is highly conductive with a surface resistivity of < 1 ohm/sq.
Easily sew electronic features into your next project
Great for use with the LilyPad
Dimensions: 12 x 13″ (304.8 x 330.2 mm)

10055-01b__91895__92677.1368471087.1280.1280

Conductive Fabric – 12″x13″ MedTex180

This is a conductive knit fabric for use in e-textiles. It is silver-plated nylon that is stretchy in one direction. This is a great add-on to any LilyPad project. Medtex 180 Ag Nylon single directional stretch. It is a bit thicker than the Medtex 130.

Information

It is highly conductive with a surface resistivity of < 1 ohm/sq.
Easily sew electronic features into your next project
Great for use with the LilyPad
Dimensions: 12 x 13″ (304.8 x 330.2 mm)

Conductive Thread – 60g (Stainless Steel)

What sets this thread apart from the other conductive thread that we carry is the fact that it’s actually spun from stainless steel fibers (as opposed to plated silver) and doesn’t have a Nylon core. This means that while it may not be easy to solder to, because it’s stainless, it also won’t burn up when you touch it with a soldering iron. Our resident E-Textiles expert suggests waxing the thread for hand sewing, as this should take care of any ‘hairy thread’ issues. Since waxing is impractical in machine sewing applications, avoid sewing close connections by machine as the ‘hairs’ could potentially short across small distances.

Information

Made from Stainless Steel Fibers
Resistance: 28 Ohms/ft
360 yards

For more information about components for wearable technology please click here.

Hook Up Wire

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Sara Procter

Arduino Boards

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Sara Procter

Arduino Uno – R3

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.

Information

Microcontroller – ATmega328
Operating Voltage – 5V
Input Voltage (recommended) – 7-12V
Input Voltage (limits) – 6-20V
Digital I/O Pins – 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
Analog Input Pins – 6
DC Current per I/O Pin – 40mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin – 50mA
Flash Memory – 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5KB used by bootloader
SRAM – 2KB (ATmega328)
EEPROM – 1KB (ATmega328)
Clock Speed – 16MHz

Quantity : 4

Half Size Breadboard

This half sized breadboard (2.2″ x 3.4″) is perfect for small projects and can be “snapped” together for larger ones. If a smaller board is required you can easily pull off the power rails or cut it in half using a saw to create 2 tiny breadboards.

Quantity : 10

Bread board mini modulare blue

This blue Mini Breadboard is a great way to prototype your small projects.

Information

With 170 tie points there’s just enough room to build and test simple circuits.
Great for breaking out DIP package ICs to jumper wires!
If you run out of room, no worries, these mini breadboards can be snapped together to form larger stretches of board.
It has a peel and stick adhesive backing as well as two mounting holes for M2 screws so you can anchor it down.

Quantity : 10