Learning about conductive ink with the CircuitScribe LiteWings kit.
There seems to have been quite a boom in conductive paint/ink applications in recent years. From the (google) research I've done - see Conductive ink on wikipedia for example - I don't see any particular reason for "why now" .. no great materials breakthough seems to be driving the trend. Perhaps it is more a market-pull situation - more people interested in wearables and flexible tech for example.
When I saw the latest Circuit Scribe kickstarter campaign, it was a perfect opportunity to try some out.
I received a simple LiteWings kit recently, and was impressed. After making the wing kits I still have ink in the pen, so now looking for novel applications;-)
It is pretty simple!
Depending on how densly one colors in a "wire", the resistance can range from 35Ω to 75Ω (as measured on my attempts).
The batteries supplied were CR1216 3V, so no extra current-limiting resistance required for the LEDs.
The circuit is as simple as you can get:
- Circuit Scribe: DIY Electronic Kits - kickstarter
- Conductive ink - wikipedia
- ..as mentioned on my blog