Conductive Paint Lessons: Difference between revisions

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(New page: =Lessons on Conductive Paint= Related to Pulse Choker Hack Notes for July 15th, 2009: "We tried silk screening silver conductive paint (MGchemicals 842-20G) onto two different types of f...)
 
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Related to Pulse Choker Hack Notes for July 15th, 2009:
Related to Pulse Choker Hack Notes for July 15th, 2009:


"We tried silk screening silver conductive paint (MGchemicals 842-20G) onto two different types of fabric, a water resistant one and a water proof "leather like" one.  Both showed very high resistance (higher than the meter can read) even for very short thick traces.  It looks really cool though - hopefully we can figure out what we're doing wrong, and make this work.  We also tried measuring the resistance of a huge dollop of paint on the spoon: silver = infinite resistance (!), copper = 200kOhms. It didn't matter if the paint was dried or wet. Note that we shook the bottle prior to use to ensure that the silver particles were dispersed evenly."
"We tried silk screening silver conductive paint (MG Chemicals 842-20G) onto two different types of fabric, a water resistant one and a water proof "leather like" one.  Both showed very high resistance (higher than the meter can read) even for very short thick traces.  It looks really cool though - hopefully we can figure out what we're doing wrong, and make this work.  We also tried measuring the resistance of a huge dollop of paint on the spoon: silver = infinite resistance (!), copper = 200kOhms. It didn't matter if the paint was dried or wet. Note that we shook the bottle prior to use to ensure that the silver particles were dispersed evenly."


==Types of Conductive Paint==
==Types of Conductive Paint==
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** Copper:
** Copper:
***    Higher resistance - ~5 ohms per square, though our hacking yielded different results
***    Higher resistance - ~5 ohms per square, though our hacking yielded different results. We bought CuPro-Cote #292-4 from [http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html Less EMF Inc.].
***    Reasonably priced - ~$30 for 4 oz from [http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html Less EMF Inc.]
***    Reasonably priced - ~$30 for 4 oz


** Silver:  
** Silver:  
***    Low resistance - ~0.1 ohms per square according to [http://someoneknows.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/desktop-fabrication-wearable-electronics-circuitry/ Desktop Fabrication: Wearable Electronics Circuitry]
***    Low resistance - ~0.1 ohms per square according to [http://someoneknows.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/desktop-fabrication-wearable-electronics-circuitry/ Desktop Fabrication: Wearable Electronics Circuitry]. The type we bought (MG Chemicals 842-20G) promises
***    Expensive - ~$30 for 0.7 oz (20 g) from [http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html Less EMF Inc.]
***    Expensive - ~$30 for 0.7 oz (20 g) from [http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html Less EMF Inc.]


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==Heeds==
==Heeds==


* Keep ink wet and workable
* Shake paint well to ensure metal particles are well dispersed
* Shake paint well to ensure metal particles are well dispersed
* Keep ink wet while working with it. If work time is protracted, mix paint frequently.
* Resistivity measures are suppose to be accurate only when paint has fully dried





Revision as of 00:01, 17 July 2009

Lessons on Conductive Paint

Related to Pulse Choker Hack Notes for July 15th, 2009:

"We tried silk screening silver conductive paint (MG Chemicals 842-20G) onto two different types of fabric, a water resistant one and a water proof "leather like" one. Both showed very high resistance (higher than the meter can read) even for very short thick traces. It looks really cool though - hopefully we can figure out what we're doing wrong, and make this work. We also tried measuring the resistance of a huge dollop of paint on the spoon: silver = infinite resistance (!), copper = 200kOhms. It didn't matter if the paint was dried or wet. Note that we shook the bottle prior to use to ensure that the silver particles were dispersed evenly."

Types of Conductive Paint

    • Copper:
      • Higher resistance - ~5 ohms per square, though our hacking yielded different results. We bought CuPro-Cote #292-4 from Less EMF Inc..
      • Reasonably priced - ~$30 for 4 oz
  • Transparent paint
    • Orgacon from Agfa - conductive, can be flexed, transparent, can be silk-screened


  • Alternatives
    • Wire glue - $4 for 0.3 oz
    • Conductive pen


Heeds

  • Shake paint well to ensure metal particles are well dispersed
  • Keep ink wet while working with it. If work time is protracted, mix paint frequently.
  • Resistivity measures are suppose to be accurate only when paint has fully dried


Art Uses

  • Paper Circuits by Leah Buckley: conductive paint, magnetic paint, magnets
  • Paper printed circuit board by Peter Blasser