Making a Simple Soft Switch

. The two different designs were traced on the light weight fabrics.
. Masking tapes were used as stencil.

. The conductive paste Electrosperse D-112 was used.
. 3 coats of the conductive paste were applied to make the print more conductive.

. Each coat  was applied with a small brush, dried and heat set using a hot iron.

. Sample on the left side was sewn over the second sample (on the right side).
. Each rectangular print on the first fabric represented a switch that would be connected to a single LED.

. LEDs were hand tacked over the print with conductive thread.

. To prevent a permanent contact, an interfacing of 1-1 mm in thickness, was sandwiched between the two layers.
. The interfacing was cut as shown in the picture.

.The soft switch consisted of two layers of light weight fabric which were placed on top of each other.
. The top layer and the bottom layer were connected to the positive pole and to the negative pole of the power supply respectively.

. The rectangular prints on the sample are the switch which works by simply touching each rectangle.
. Applying a light pressure will cause the top layer to touch with the bottom layer which in turn, will complete a circuit and this is demonstrated by lighting the square LED.

. The soft switch is lightweight, can be folded, bent, rolled and these do not affect the function of the switch.
. This switch can therefore easily be integrated in garments or soft products.