{"id":366,"date":"2010-01-07T12:59:46","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T20:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=366"},"modified":"2015-10-08T15:33:32","modified_gmt":"2015-10-08T22:33:32","slug":"how-to-make-a-ridiculously-cheap-analog-pressure-sensor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/01\/how-to-make-a-ridiculously-cheap-analog-pressure-sensor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Ridiculously Cheap Analog Pressure Sensor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pf-content\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/sensor3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-370\" title=\"Foam Analog Pressure Sensor\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/sensor3-e1263995730806.png\" alt=\"Foam Analog Pressure Sensor\" width=\"96\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><a href='http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com' title='Interesting Facts'>Today I found out<\/a> how to make a cheap analog pressure sensor. Tired of paying exorbitant amounts for a simple analog pressure sensor?\u00a0 Well here is an easy smeasy way to make an incredibly cheap analog pressure sensor.\u00a0 This pressure sensor won\u2019t be terribly accurate in terms of measuring precise weight or things of this nature, though it can be calibrated somewhat and if you choose to coat it in something like Plasti Dip some of the variables such as humidity and the like can be minimized.\u00a0 However, what this analog pressure sensor is best for is for creating things like bumper sensors that can read variable levels of pressure and various other touch \/ pressure sensor applications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Materials:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Any static dissipative foam (If you\u2019ve ever ordered any IC chips, you probably have some lying around.\u00a0 IC\u2019s are often set in this foam for shipping.) or if you don\u2019t have any, you can pick it up from a variety of places, <a title=\"Static Dissipative Foam\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00B88717I\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00B88717I&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=vicastingcom-20&amp;linkId=PENYVAA64TPPRTBU\" target=\"_blank\">such as this<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Wire<\/li>\n<li>(optional) <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B0006SL0VO?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=vicastingcom-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0006SL0VO\">Plasti Dip Rubber Coating<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=vicastingcom-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=B0006SL0VO\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Instructions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cut the foam to the size you like.\u00a0 You can cut it quite small and still get a good range of resistance levels.\u00a0 The foam in this picture is cut to less than half an inch square and about 1\/4 inch thick;\u00a0 once completed these two each produce a range of around 2.6K Ohms down to 400 Ohms when squished completely.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/materials1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-367\" title=\"Materials\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/materials1-e1263995269318.png\" alt=\"Foam Sensor, Wire, Plasti Dip\" width=\"500\" height=\"491\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/materials1-e1263995269318.png 500w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/materials1-e1263995269318-340x334.png 340w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/materials1-e1263995269318-75x75.png 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 2:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Poke two wires into the foam.\u00a0 Make sure the wires aren\u2019t touching and there is a bit of a gap between the two so that when squished they won\u2019t touch.\u00a0 To make sure the wires don\u2019t come out while in use, I poked the wire all the way through and bent them at the ends.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/poked.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-368\" title=\"Wires Poked Through\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/poked.png\" alt=\"Foam Analog Pressure Sensor\" width=\"200\" height=\"289\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3 (optional):<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-right\"><!-- wp_ad_camp_1 --><\/div>\n<p>At this point your new analog pressure sensor is all ready to use.\u00a0 However, I like to put a nice covering on it to protect it from wear and tear and a little electrical insulation might be needed depending on what you are going to use this for.<\/p>\n<p>My preferred method of covering the sensor is to use Plasti Dip or equivalent liquid plastic coating.\u00a0 If using Plasti Dip, dip once slowly and hang the sensor to dry.\u00a0 Wait 20 minutes and do this again.\u00a0 That should give a nice thick coat on the sensor.\u00a0 The Plasti Dip will stiffen the sensor quite a bit, so don&#8217;t put too much on if you want it to stay extra squishy.\u00a0 In this case, one coat is probably enough.\u00a0 Play with it to get it to your liking for your particular usage.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can just wrap it in electrical tape or equivalent, but I\u2019ve found that tends to not hold up well over the long haul.\u00a0 It also carries the potential bad side effect of the adhesive on the tape causing the foam to not be able to re-expand over time and thus ruin the pressure sensor.\u00a0 Plasti Dip doesn\u2019t seem to have this problem in the sensors I\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve also tried using a little bit of <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B002MBEET8?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=vicastingcom-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B002MBEET8\">visqueen<\/a> cut and wrapped over the pressure sensor and sealed around it.\u00a0 This worked pretty well.\u00a0 And of course, you could just not put any covering on it at all if you aren&#8217;t worried about electric shock in the usage you are using these for.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/dip1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-369\" title=\"Dipping Foam Analog Pressure Sensor in Plasti Dip\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/dip1.png\" alt=\"Dipping\" width=\"235\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s it.\u00a0 At this point, test it on your <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B000EVYGZA?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=vicastingcom-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B000EVYGZA\">multimeter<\/a>, if you have one.\u00a0 You should see a nice range of resistance depending on how hard you are pressing or not.\u00a0 If necessary, you may want to hook up a resistor with this depending on your usage.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/reading1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin-left: 30px;\" title=\"Reading from Analog Pressure Sensor\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/reading1.png\" alt=\"Reading from Analog Pressure Sensor\" width=\"300\" height=\"318\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/reading2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin-left: 30px;\" title=\"Reading from Analog Pressure Sensor\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/reading2.png\" alt=\"Reading from Analog Pressure Sensor\" width=\"300\" height=\"318\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-brainfoodshow\/id1350586459\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/36xpXQMPVXhWJzMoCHPJKd\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&#038;isi=691797987&#038;ius=googleplaymusic&#038;apn=com.google.android.music&#038;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Insimdi4g6puyyr4qbt6tup5b6m?t%3DThe_BrainFood_Show%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/feed\/brainfood\/\" target=\"_blank\">Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/06\/how-to-hack-an-alarm-clock\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Hack an Alarm Clock<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2010\/02\/the-12-best-ways-to-remove-stripped-screws\/\" target=\"_blank\">The 12 Best Ways to Remove Stripped Screws<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I wish I could remember where I learned this.\u00a0 I picked it up in an electrical engineering textbook I read a few years back when I got really in to learning electrical engineering.\u00a0 But, I can&#8217;t remember what textbook it was in and can&#8217;t seem to find a reference anywhere to this handy little trick for making a cheap analog pressure sensor.\u00a0 If anybody knows an electrical engineering book that mentions making an analog pressure sensor this way, please let me know so I can cite it here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href='http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com' title='Interesting Facts'>Today I found out<\/a> how to make a cheap analog pressure sensor. Tired of paying exorbitant amounts for a simple analog pressure sensor?\u00a0 Well here is an easy smeasy way to make an incredibly cheap analog pressure sensor.\u00a0 This pressure sensor won\u2019t be terribly accurate in terms of measuring precise weight or things of this nature, though it can be [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[54,53,977,56,52],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-i-found-out","category-miscellaneous","tag-electrical-engineering","tag-electronics","tag-how-to","tag-pressure-sensor","tag-sensor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43670,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions\/43670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}