Hey bud, this is super helpful, but I have some follow up questions. 1) Can you use any type of foam or only the packing foam? 2) What does your wire set up look like with the meter? Do you have an external power set up?
1) I've never tried this with another type of foam, but I assume you could use any similar type of foam and it would work. 2) The positive charge is going into the red wire and the negative wire is going into the black wire. You can use an analog pin on your micro-controller to measure the change in voltage to figure out if the sensor is being pressed or not. 3) Yes, the multi-meter (and therefor the sensor) is getting power from batteries. Whatever your using to power your project can also power this sensor just like a normal store-bought pressure sensor. I hope that answered your questions.
I don't know much about the properties of the foam itself, but as I understand it the density of a conductor effects the current going through it. So by squeezing the foam you are increasing the density and therefore changing the current in a measurable way. This isn't great if you want a weight or something precise. But if you just want to know "Is this thing being pressed" it works
Frank Lopez Kudos for the Video clip! Excuse me for the intrusion, I am interested in your opinion. Have you heard the talk about - Dinanlinson Energy Source Approach (search on google)? It is a good one of a kind guide for discovering super food to super charge your energy without the normal expense. Ive heard some incredible things about it and my GF at very last got excellent results with it.
Or you could clamp the foam between two strips of copper breadboard. it would be interesting to learn which properties of the foam allows it to act in this way. The mass remains the same , the structure is possible the same, its really the density which changes. So what else is happening does the internal structure callapse to create physical paths for the electricity to flow? Still it beats Piezo and the other load sensors.
I don't know exactly why (like at an atomic or quantum level), but as I understand it resistance is dependent on length and cross sectional area of the conduction, and I believe both of those change when the foam is squeezed. Resistivity also depends on the material used, and I wouldn't be surprised if changing the density of the foam changes resistivity as well. Basically like dense foam is a different material to not-dense foam. But it's been years both since my last physics class, and when I made this video, so take all that with a "citation needed".
Hello . I like the simplicity in this. I want to create a sensor so that is someone stands in a spot of 1 foot x 1 foot area then it turns on an electric switch . How can I make this and what would I need? I am not very well versed in such experiments . Please advise .
This is great. Now I need a controller that can take the resistance numbers and perform an action like telling a circuit to close when the resistance reaches a certain level.
Using an auto-ranging DVM I'm finding a piece of foam 1 1/2 inches square (not square inches) by 1/2 inch thick, with wires pierced approximately 1 inch (approximately because I have no idea where the wires are going inside the foam). I'm reading typically 3KΩ just resting. When I squeeze my foam - finger pressure is not consistent - the range changes upwards toward 5KΩ, depending on how hard I squeeze. In the video it appeared the resistance fell. Also, in the video the meter was set to what appears to be the MEG OHM setting. Changes in resistance do not appear to be consistent. And for accuracy - - - there is none. This would be an almost useless sensor unless you wanted to know if someone stepped on it.
Awesome video. I have a couple of questions... Firstly, is there a way to make it more accurate? To more decibel places? Would that just be a case of getting a more detailed multimeter? Secondly, is there a way I can record this data on a computer in real time? As in, as I squeeze, it comes up on a graph with the pressure created and at what time. Thank you for this video.
Thanks! To answer the first question the precision of the reading is determined by whatever you use to read the sensor. However I don't know how consistent the readout is at more precise measurements. Secondly you can record the data as you described, but that would involve designing a circuit and writing some software. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find some pre-made code to do what you say, I just used a multi-meter to show that the current does change measurably with pressure.
I've seen where you can use either a wheatbridge or a voltage divider circuit to ampify the output where it can be read more accurately. I'll probably go for the Voltage divider as that takes up the least space for what i have in mind.
Hi if you could help me out i have a question .I'd like to make a presser pad for punching a martial art dummy.The idea is when you deliver a punch you can see a read out how hard you've hit .Can you give me some advice ,thanks...
I've never tried something like this where you can tell how hard something was it, but I'll do my best to help. I doubt it will work with only one pressure sensor, because they are so small. This design especially wouldn't work over long distances. I would recommend placing presser sensors at each corner and maybe the center of where your going to hit the dummy and play around with some code to see if you can get an accurate reading by averaging the force from each sensor or something like that. That's only a theory though, I don't know for certain if it would work. If you want to be more certain I would recommend researching how real martial arts dummies work or maybe see if there's a part that does what you want other than a pressure sensor. Hope this was some help to you, and good luck on your project.
how big is the dummy? full size like with a torso and head? or like a punching bag? you could probably get decent data by using an accelerometer, and doing some basic acceleration vs deflection calculations.
The dummy is named bob it is basically a head torso here is a link to the bob dummy I'm talking about martialartsdepot.ca/product_info.php?cPath=258_259&products_id=6108&osCsid=ae2be531c4288ef80d22c6ea625764ea it would need pads all over it to have a good Technik striking points ....... any ideas how to make the pads would be grate.
With this method I doubt it. On paper the air pressure would effect the foam, but I expect you would need rather extreme pressures and it wouldn't be very precise. I could be wrong though, but you're probably better off with something a bit more precise and involved.
How would you extend the width of this so that you could use it for stairs? Would carpet also cause issues? A simple on/off is all I really need. I don't need to check the resistance. Commercial products are around the $15 to $20 range which is just ridiculous.
Not sure if you could use this design over that distance. However I might try putting a sensor where the most foot-traffic on the stairs is and put the wires across the thinner side of the sensor. Alternatively, it might work better if you get a large price of cardboard or wood and put it over 5 or so large buttons spread out on the underside of the cardboard (like the 5 on a dice) and then put that under the carpet so the buttons get pressed when someone steps over that area of carpet. Sorry it took a wile to respond, I've been having computer troubles lately. Hope this helped
N Squared That's a great idea on the tactile buttons! I was really looking for something more along the lines of resistive sensor detection though. I believe I've come across a good solution using Velostat and some strategically placed micro controllers. No worries about the delay! Liked + Subscribed anyway. P.S. You gave me a good starting point which led me to Velostat, which I believe will fulfill my project's requirements. Thank you!
For my project, I am also using Velostat. I am soldering highly conductive silver-copper wire to strips of copper foil, with a strip of Velo in between. I am considering encasing and attaching it to the trigger object, in your case the stair tread, with something like hot glue. Right now I am using Gorilla (r) tape one strip on each side.
Asking tons of Questions Thanks! RUclips analytics say the ads on this video have made me $0.03 and already that's more than the sensor cost :D. I think there will be a lot of cost saving DIY on my channel in the future.
hey really helpful video.i just wanted to ask, if there was any conversion scale that could convert the resistance measured by the pressure sensor into actual pressure value in mmHg?
Thanks. You would have to do that experimentally I believe. Every individual sensor is going to be different. I'm not sure if it's a linear formula though. The intent was that you would find out a trigger value you wanted, test what the output is when you apply that force, and use that in your code. I expect that compressing the foam requires more and more force the more it's already compressed so you might struggle to program an accurate sensor. If you just need it "good enough" over a small range of pressures though you could test known pressures at set increments and just display a range of possible pressures using that.
I think this could work. However I don't know exactly how this works under the extreme pressures a hydraulic press can generate (I've only needed basic things like if something is pressed with moderate force). If you have time this is cheep enough that I think it is worth a shot, but if you need something guaranteed to work on a shorter time-frame a sensor rated to work at the pressures you are expecting would probably be the safer bet.
Hey I'm curious if you made say 10 roughly the same size would they have the same resistance pattern? Also could you set them to do something say turn on a light once a certain amount of pressure was applied? And if yes to prior question what would be the minimum weight that it could be set for? Lastly if covered by a layer of plastic as a cover how long would something like this last?
Patrick McAleer 1: The exact resistance varies from sensor to sensor, however I assume the resistance would be similar if the sensors were similar sizes, I don't know for sure though never payed attention how different sensors compare to one another. 2: You could use it to do something by reading how much voltage is coming from the sensor and wright the code so that something will happen when the voltage goes below a set point. ex: if voltage is
You'ld have to test it yourself. It depends on how much the pressure of the gas compresses the sensor, and how sensitive you need to be. In general though I think this sensor is more useful for a binary "am I being pressed" or maybe "am I being pressed none/a little/a medium amount/a lot" then "I am being pressed with 5.67lbs or force." But that's what you get for basically no money :)
As some barely useful advice, from someone who's used pocket knives a lot to strip wires, if you roll the wire on table under the blade of the knife it will go much faster for you next time. Don't try to carve it, that will take much more time as you experienced.
I've never done it myself but it should work. It would probably have a different sensitivity though because the material I used is firmer than a sponge. I don't know if it would be more or less sensitive though
+Mina Nagy Honestly, I built this almost a year ago and so I don't actually remember. I believe it was ohm but it might have been kohm. If you build it yourself you'll just have to try both to see which works, or test it with a multi-meter.
Made me laugh haha :) I'm looking at building a sensor that can send a signal to an electronic device when weight is added to it to make a lever move. Sort of like a scale that moves a lever when weight is added but the lever is moved by a motor and some gears. Does that make any sense? Lol... If so do you have any ideas on where to start?
Thanks! For your project I would start by either buying or building a scale, I'm not on expert on scales but I believe if you make a big enough platform and put presser sensors on the legs at the 4 corners (so that all the weight is put on those sensors) you could test the resistance of the sensor using the weight you want (say a 10 pound dumbbell) and see the resistance when the dumbbell is on the platform. Once you have that number you can write your code saying that when one of the sensors reads a resistance greater than (or less then, I can't remember which way it goes) that weight the signal to activate the lever will activate. With regards to the leaver, it seems a bit strange to use gears. If i'm understanding you correctly, I feel like you can remove the gears and attach the lever directly to either a servo or DC motor that moves when it gets the signal from the presser sensors. Feel free to ask for clarification if anything I said doesn't make sense or is wrong.
Frank Lopez As far as I know, there isn't really a way to get the exact same value from the sensor every time (I assume that's what you mean), however you can mess around with your code so that when the sensor is squeezed the value will be lower than a threshold you set and it will be read as "On".
this is nice but when you have a multi sensor array this wont work as it will be applied to all sensors and not all sensor will have the same reading as mention by one of your viewers
Frank Lopez Sorry, not sure what to do to fix that. I haven't used these pressure sensors in many projects and its been a wile sense I worked with them.
so are you saying that this video is not worth pursuing? i mean you posted this so im not sure your expecting someone who did not know about to begin with to pick up where you left off? "dont wanna sound rude ,. just saying" im looking to use this for robotic applications so i like the idea/thought but i was under the impression that when ppl do videos like this is cuz they have a solid understanding thus they teach/share to other like myself
Frank Lopez Again sorry I couldn't help. I know how to get the pressure sensor to work if your just using one on its own but that's all I've ever needed to do so i haven't looked into getting multiple ones to work together. However I would assume it works in a similar way to using normal pressure sensors, as it is basically the same thing but cheaper and therefore less consistent.
I didn't not like any part of this . you can strip wire with a knife easily by rolling the wire across the cutting edge to score the insulation. then, bend the wire, and the insulation will break, and you can remove it. good post filming commentary.
Thank you for such a demonstrative video. Much appreciated. You might like our Bluetooth Pressure Sensor too. BluePSI is a series of pressure sensors for measurement of liquid or gas pressure. It has high resolution (24-bit ADC), high accuracy (±0.25%FS), long battery life (up to 2 years with a coin battery) and good water&dust proof rate (IP67). For further information please visit our store. store.motionics.com/products/bluetooth-pressure-sensor-bluepsi
Thanks for testing it
Hey bud, this is super helpful, but I have some follow up questions. 1) Can you use any type of foam or only the packing foam? 2) What does your wire set up look like with the meter? Do you have an external power set up?
1) I've never tried this with another type of foam, but I assume you could use any similar type of foam and it would work.
2) The positive charge is going into the red wire and the negative wire is going into the black wire. You can use an analog pin on your micro-controller to measure the change in voltage to figure out if the sensor is being pressed or not.
3) Yes, the multi-meter (and therefor the sensor) is getting power from batteries. Whatever your using to power your project can also power this sensor just like a normal store-bought pressure sensor.
I hope that answered your questions.
why and how does this pressure sensor work? Does the foam form a resistor connection between the two leads? I thought foam materials were insulators?
I don't know much about the properties of the foam itself, but as I understand it the density of a conductor effects the current going through it. So by squeezing the foam you are increasing the density and therefore changing the current in a measurable way.
This isn't great if you want a weight or something precise. But if you just want to know "Is this thing being pressed" it works
@@CaptNSquared thank you
lol "you have to wait till earth spins 180" lol too funny!
Frank Lopez pi over 2
Yes that was the best!
Frank Lopez
Kudos for the Video clip! Excuse me for the intrusion, I am interested in your opinion. Have you heard the talk about - Dinanlinson Energy Source Approach (search on google)? It is a good one of a kind guide for discovering super food to super charge your energy without the normal expense. Ive heard some incredible things about it and my GF at very last got excellent results with it.
@@oneidagonzalez5325 thanks for the info
Or you could clamp the foam between two strips of copper breadboard.
it would be interesting to learn which properties of the foam allows it to act in this way. The mass remains the same , the structure is possible the same, its really the density which changes. So what else is happening does the internal structure callapse to create physical paths for the electricity to flow? Still it beats Piezo and the other load sensors.
I don't know exactly why (like at an atomic or quantum level), but as I understand it resistance is dependent on length and cross sectional area of the conduction, and I believe both of those change when the foam is squeezed.
Resistivity also depends on the material used, and I wouldn't be surprised if changing the density of the foam changes resistivity as well. Basically like dense foam is a different material to not-dense foam. But it's been years both since my last physics class, and when I made this video, so take all that with a "citation needed".
Hello . I like the simplicity in this. I want to create a sensor so that is someone stands in a spot of 1 foot x 1 foot area then it turns on an electric switch . How can I make this and what would I need? I am not very well versed in such experiments . Please advise .
Helpful and humorous. Great job!
This is great. Now I need a controller that can take the resistance numbers and perform an action like telling a circuit to close when the resistance reaches a certain level.
Using an auto-ranging DVM I'm finding a piece of foam 1 1/2 inches square (not square inches) by 1/2 inch thick, with wires pierced approximately 1 inch (approximately because I have no idea where the wires are going inside the foam). I'm reading typically 3KΩ just resting. When I squeeze my foam - finger pressure is not consistent - the range changes upwards toward 5KΩ, depending on how hard I squeeze. In the video it appeared the resistance fell. Also, in the video the meter was set to what appears to be the MEG OHM setting. Changes in resistance do not appear to be consistent. And for accuracy - - - there is none. This would be an almost useless sensor unless you wanted to know if someone stepped on it.
This was a great video! I didn't realize it was that easy. I look forward to more videos.
Awesome video. I have a couple of questions...
Firstly, is there a way to make it more accurate? To more decibel places? Would that just be a case of getting a more detailed multimeter?
Secondly, is there a way I can record this data on a computer in real time? As in, as I squeeze, it comes up on a graph with the pressure created and at what time.
Thank you for this video.
Thanks! To answer the first question the precision of the reading is determined by whatever you use to read the sensor. However I don't know how consistent the readout is at more precise measurements.
Secondly you can record the data as you described, but that would involve designing a circuit and writing some software. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find some pre-made code to do what you say, I just used a multi-meter to show that the current does change measurably with pressure.
@@CaptNSquared That is an amazing answer! Thank you very much, it was extremely helpful! :)
I've seen where you can use either a wheatbridge or a voltage divider circuit to ampify the output where it can be read more accurately. I'll probably go for the Voltage divider as that takes up the least space for what i have in mind.
Hi if you could help me out i have a question .I'd like to make a presser pad for punching a martial art dummy.The idea is when you deliver a punch you can see a read out how hard you've hit .Can you give me some advice ,thanks...
I've never tried something like this where you can tell how hard something was it, but I'll do my best to help.
I doubt it will work with only one pressure sensor, because they are so small. This design especially wouldn't work over long distances. I would recommend placing presser sensors at each corner and maybe the center of where your going to hit the dummy and play around with some code to see if you can get an accurate reading by averaging the force from each sensor or something like that.
That's only a theory though, I don't know for certain if it would work. If you want to be more certain I would recommend researching how real martial arts dummies work or maybe see if there's a part that does what you want other than a pressure sensor.
Hope this was some help to you, and good luck on your project.
That would be great
how big is the dummy? full size like with a torso and head? or like a punching bag? you could probably get decent data by using an accelerometer, and doing some basic acceleration vs deflection calculations.
The dummy is named bob it is basically a head torso here is a link to the bob dummy I'm talking about
martialartsdepot.ca/product_info.php?cPath=258_259&products_id=6108&osCsid=ae2be531c4288ef80d22c6ea625764ea
it would need pads all over it to have a good Technik striking points .......
any ideas how to make the pads would be grate.
Ok i thought this was for a pressure sensor for an air compressor... Lol.... Is there any way you can make 1 of those??
With this method I doubt it. On paper the air pressure would effect the foam, but I expect you would need rather extreme pressures and it wouldn't be very precise. I could be wrong though, but you're probably better off with something a bit more precise and involved.
Liquid tape?! Amazng!
How would you extend the width of this so that you could use it for stairs? Would carpet also cause issues? A simple on/off is all I really need. I don't need to check the resistance. Commercial products are around the $15 to $20 range which is just ridiculous.
Not sure if you could use this design over that distance. However I might try putting a sensor where the most foot-traffic on the stairs is and put the wires across the thinner side of the sensor.
Alternatively, it might work better if you get a large price of cardboard or wood and put it over 5 or so large buttons spread out on the underside of the cardboard (like the 5 on a dice) and then put that under the carpet so the buttons get pressed when someone steps over that area of carpet.
Sorry it took a wile to respond, I've been having computer troubles lately. Hope this helped
N Squared That's a great idea on the tactile buttons! I was really looking for something more along the lines of resistive sensor detection though. I believe I've come across a good solution using Velostat and some strategically placed micro controllers. No worries about the delay! Liked + Subscribed anyway. P.S. You gave me a good starting point which led me to Velostat, which I believe will fulfill my project's requirements. Thank you!
For my project, I am also using Velostat. I am soldering highly conductive silver-copper wire to strips of copper foil, with a strip of Velo in between. I am considering encasing and attaching it to the trigger object, in your case the stair tread, with something like hot glue. Right now I am using Gorilla (r) tape one strip on each side.
I like anything DIY that saves a buck and bumps up the creativity a bit. Cheers! :O)
Asking tons of Questions Thanks! RUclips analytics say the ads on this video have made me $0.03 and already that's more than the sensor cost :D. I think there will be a lot of cost saving DIY on my channel in the future.
Where can you buy the foam cheap, if u dont have any ?
hey really helpful video.i just wanted to ask, if there was any conversion scale that could convert the resistance measured by the pressure sensor into actual pressure value in mmHg?
Thanks. You would have to do that experimentally I believe. Every individual sensor is going to be different.
I'm not sure if it's a linear formula though. The intent was that you would find out a trigger value you wanted, test what the output is when you apply that force, and use that in your code.
I expect that compressing the foam requires more and more force the more it's already compressed so you might struggle to program an accurate sensor. If you just need it "good enough" over a small range of pressures though you could test known pressures at set increments and just display a range of possible pressures using that.
I need to make a sensor to go in-between pieces of wood we are pressing with a hydraulic press. Do you think this idea would work?
I think this could work. However I don't know exactly how this works under the extreme pressures a hydraulic press can generate (I've only needed basic things like if something is pressed with moderate force). If you have time this is cheep enough that I think it is worth a shot, but if you need something guaranteed to work on a shorter time-frame a sensor rated to work at the pressures you are expecting would probably be the safer bet.
Hey I'm curious if you made say 10 roughly the same size would they have the same resistance pattern? Also could you set them to do something say turn on a light once a certain amount of pressure was applied? And if yes to prior question what would be the minimum weight that it could be set for? Lastly if covered by a layer of plastic as a cover how long would something like this last?
Patrick McAleer 1: The exact resistance varies from sensor to sensor, however I assume the resistance would be similar if the sensors were similar sizes, I don't know for sure though never payed attention how different sensors compare to one another.
2: You could use it to do something by reading how much voltage is coming from the sensor and wright the code so that something will happen when the voltage goes below a set point. ex: if voltage is
How to make diaphragm pressure sensor for industrial purpose and how the diaphragm send a signal to electronic circuit
Really interesting.Cheers.
Can this measure LPG gas cylinder ammount
You'ld have to test it yourself. It depends on how much the pressure of the gas compresses the sensor, and how sensitive you need to be.
In general though I think this sensor is more useful for a binary "am I being pressed" or maybe "am I being pressed none/a little/a medium amount/a lot" then "I am being pressed with 5.67lbs or force." But that's what you get for basically no money :)
Could that work with on a 3'x6' mat? Corner to Corner pressure sensors.
+Meek Man It probably would. You would have to try it yourself to be sure though.
nice one i love the idea
how much pressure can it acomodate
As some barely useful advice, from someone who's used pocket knives a lot to strip wires, if you roll the wire on table under the blade of the knife it will go much faster for you next time. Don't try to carve it, that will take much more time as you experienced.
Sir can we use sponge
I've never done it myself but it should work. It would probably have a different sensitivity though because the material I used is firmer than a sponge. I don't know if it would be more or less sensitive though
Tank sir
This was super cheap except the cost of a sheet of foam with shipping.
what's the scale of this measurement ?
ohm
kohm
megaohm
?????
+Mina Nagy Honestly, I built this almost a year ago and so I don't actually remember. I believe it was ohm but it might have been kohm. If you build it yourself you'll just have to try both to see which works, or test it with a multi-meter.
Made me laugh haha :) I'm looking at building a sensor that can send a signal to an electronic device when weight is added to it to make a lever move. Sort of like a scale that moves a lever when weight is added but the lever is moved by a motor and some gears. Does that make any sense? Lol... If so do you have any ideas on where to start?
Thanks!
For your project I would start by either buying or building a scale, I'm not on expert on scales but I believe if you make a big enough platform and put presser sensors on the legs at the 4 corners (so that all the weight is put on those sensors) you could test the resistance of the sensor using the weight you want (say a 10 pound dumbbell) and see the resistance when the dumbbell is on the platform. Once you have that number you can write your code saying that when one of the sensors reads a resistance greater than (or less then, I can't remember which way it goes) that weight the signal to activate the lever will activate.
With regards to the leaver, it seems a bit strange to use gears. If i'm understanding you correctly, I feel like you can remove the gears and attach the lever directly to either a servo or DC motor that moves when it gets the signal from the presser sensors.
Feel free to ask for clarification if anything I said doesn't make sense or is wrong.
my left ear : "WH-"
how do we stabilize the value data being read by terminal?
Frank Lopez As far as I know, there isn't really a way to get the exact same value from the sensor every time (I assume that's what you mean), however you can mess around with your code so that when the sensor is squeezed the value will be lower than a threshold you set and it will be read as "On".
this is nice but when you have a multi sensor array this wont work as it will be applied to all sensors and not all sensor will have the same reading as mention by one of your viewers
Frank Lopez Sorry, not sure what to do to fix that. I haven't used these pressure sensors in many projects and its been a wile sense I worked with them.
so are you saying that this video is not worth pursuing? i mean you posted this so im not sure your expecting someone who did not know about to begin with to pick up where you left off? "dont wanna sound rude ,. just saying" im looking to use this for robotic applications so i like the idea/thought but i was under the impression that when ppl do videos like this is cuz they have a solid understanding thus they teach/share to other like myself
Frank Lopez Again sorry I couldn't help. I know how to get the pressure sensor to work if your just using one on its own but that's all I've ever needed to do so i haven't looked into getting multiple ones to work together. However I would assume it works in a similar way to using normal pressure sensors, as it is basically the same thing but cheaper and therefore less consistent.
I love the intro..😯😮
The video is a little too dark fyi. 👍
Hey! Great video. I subscribed. This is jay by the way.
Dr. Cocadewsi And so did I......this is that four eyed asain kid lololol
Noah Stubblefield I don't think so. I know this guy.
Dr. Cocadewsi You don't know me? :(
I didn't not like any part of this . you can strip wire with a knife easily by rolling the wire across the cutting edge to score the insulation. then, bend the wire, and the insulation will break, and you can remove it.
good post filming commentary.
Thank you for such a demonstrative video. Much appreciated.
You might like our Bluetooth Pressure Sensor too.
BluePSI is a series of pressure sensors for measurement of liquid or gas pressure. It has high resolution (24-bit ADC), high accuracy (±0.25%FS), long battery life (up to 2 years with a coin battery) and good water&dust proof rate (IP67).
For further information please visit our store.
store.motionics.com/products/bluetooth-pressure-sensor-bluepsi
im in love - marry me
Find a different hobby..