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Machine-Sewing Solderable Traces

Using Karl Grimm’s copper thread to sew solderable circuit traces to fabric. Karl Grimm’s copper thread is very much like wire, but much more flexible and it doesn’t quite look like wire. I haven’t had much luck using it as the bobbin thread in my sewing machine, but you can sew in place using regular thread to sew a zigzag stitch on top of it.

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6 Comments so far

Machine-sewing solderable circuits « adafruit industries blog on March 14th, 2012

[…] Hannah Perner-Wilson writes: Using Karl Grimm’s copper thread to sew solderable circuit traces to fabric. Karl Grimm’s copper thread is very much like wire, but much more flexible and it doesn’t quite look like wire. I haven’t had much luck using it as the bobbin thread in my sewing machine, but you can sew in place using regular thread to sew a zigzag stitch on top of it. Filed under: wearables — by Becky Stern, posted March 14, 2012 at 4:00 pm Comments (0) hr{display:none} .in_the_store{background-image: url("https://www.adafruit.com/includes/templates/adafruit/images/side_back.jpg"); background-repeat: repeat-x;width:634px;border: 1px solid #CCCCCC; float:left;} In the Adafruit Store: Electroluminescent (EL) Panel Starter Pack – 10cm x 10cm Aqua RGB backlight positive LCD 16×2 + extras MCP23008 – i2c 8 input/output port expander […]
Generative Textile project « juanduarteregino on October 30th, 2012

[…] Machine sewing solderable circuits […]
Bruce Quin Bautista on February 23rd, 2013

I am very interested in e-textiles and watched these videos from a applications technique standpoint. I could not help but think back to my 1st job as a printed circuit board layout designer for Hammond Organ company in 1966. We were doing the same thing your video demo’d. It seems to me that with a little focused effort by the internet community on innovating this process of making flexible wired circuit garments. The process could be improved 100 fold. Just need to network the knowledgeable people together.
P.S. I think a sewing machine can be hacked to introduce the conductive wire along with the stitching thread in a novel manner.
Karl Grimm thread running trough a sewingmachine | Eric Magnée on April 24th, 2013

[…] I just found a way of running the Karl Grimm thread trough a sewing machine, special thanks to Hannah Perner-Wilson for posting this method on her website! […]
Working… | Eric Magnée on April 24th, 2013

[…] threads placed 5 mm apart from eachother. I’m using the Karl Grimm thread and the method that Hannah Perner-Wilson showed me to sew the thread into the […]
Introduction to eTextile – eLab on May 27th, 2015

[…] example: Machine-Sewing Solderable Traces http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=3395 […]

Content by Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson

The following institutions have funded our research and supported our work:

From 2013-2015 Mika is a guest professor at the eLab at Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee

From July - December 2013 Hannah was a researcher at the UdK's Design Research Lab

From 2010-2012 Mika was a guest researcher in the Smart Textiles Design Lab at The Swedish School of Textiles

From 2009 - 2011 Hannah was a graduate student in the MIT Media Lab's High-Low Tech research group led by Leah Buechley

In 2009 Hannah and Mika were both research fellows at the Distance Lab

Between 2003 - 2009 Hannah and Mika were both students at Interface Cultures

We support the Open Source Hardware movement. All our own designs published on this website are released under the Free Cultural Works definition

Machine-Sewing Solderable Traces

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