Traces

Traces

A trace is a conductive material that carries electricity (e.g. current) from one location in your circuit to another. In traditional electronics, your traces are usually insulated wires with uninsulated tips that you plug into a breadboard or solder to a controller. In soft electronics traces can be created from a single thread traveling through a material, a conductive fabric or paint fused to the surface of a fabric or a single thread of material integrated into a knit or woven fabric. They are attached through more inventive connection methods. Most "smart" features of garments are created by remaking existing sensors and actuators using traces alone - as traces configured in particular patterns (spirals, etc) can produce emergent properties such as magnetism, etc. Traces typically are produced from highly conductive materials like copper and can be integrated with any number of processes from bonding, plating, etching, fusing, knitting, weaving, etc.

Examples:

Process Example
Combing and Carding
Spinning

Spinning sensor yarn:

https://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=7777

Spinning conductive/resistive yarn:

https://class.textile-academy.org/2019/ana.correa/assignments/week08/

Extruding/3D printing

Make your own conductive filament:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a05uQ1frAOY

Plying

Hand plying conductive yarn

http://emeteuz.com/woven-signals

Braiding
Paper-Making
Growing Growing wires in roses: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a18274/plants-electrified-scientists-just-grew-conductive-wires-inside-roses/
Knitting

Knitting traces to make a finger sensor (see tutorial slides at end of page):
https://blog.jesseseay.com/

Knitting i-cords with conductive material:

https://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=2108

Weaving Woven Electronic Ribbon integrated into performance garments:
http://www.scisci.org/textilen/
Embroidery Embroidered traces
http://www.ireneposch.net/the-embroidered-computer/
Felting
Coating
Dying
Bonding Cut and fused copper fabric example:
http://afroditipsarra.com/index.php?/older-projects/cosmic-bitcasting/
Etching
Pleating
Electrospinning
Sewing Sewing Traces Tutorial:
https://www.instructables.com/lesson/Sew-a-Circuit/

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