Connections

There are a range of different possibilities to connect conductive materials. One of the hardest and at this point very relevant one in textile electronics is the hard/soft connection between conductive textiles and traditional components and circuit boards. Most connections are a combination of permanent and plugable (de- and re- attachable) connections. Here we try [...]

Conductive fabrics and threads can be plated without having to first coat them in conductive paint because they are already conductive! It can be a great way to make a conductive fabric solderable to then make a robust solder connection to a soft fabric circuit. Here are some examples of different conductive fabrics and threads [...]

This conductive fabric breakout circuit is also an example of a plugable hard to soft connection.

Tips on how to improve your electrical contacts between various materials. It is always good practice to test a certain connecting technique before applying it to more than one connection.

also see: Materials >> Conductive Threads You can’t solder to most conductive threads, but there are conductive threads that are actually made by spinning very thin flattened wire around a soft, flexible core, and these are great for soldering to.

also see: Materials >> Conductive Fabrics Of the conductive fabrics I tried soldering to, only the copper FlecTron fabric distributed by LessEMF was very reliable. There was another silver fabric that worked, but I don’t know the source. The Laird conductive fabric tape was also good, so were copper mesh and copper foil tape with [...]

I had hard time soldering DIP pin legs to conductive fabric. It becomes always crumbly and does not stick to the fabric good. (Also I am using lead free solder, that makes it look crumbly too)

A series of custom made plugs to be sewable or soft.