Open Droplet Experiments: Silicon Casing
If you put some electronics in your bathroom, you want them to be waterproof.
We ran some tests last week on making Open Droplet shower safe, to stop water from getting in and playing havoc with the carefully constructed insides.
These first tests, shown in the video below, see us encasing Open Droplet in silicon, and investigating how the microphone responds to being encased and what effect it has on the LEDs.
Technical info: For this test we’re using low grade silicon (HS620 Silikon + catalyst) with a blue pigment, and we measured proportions by weight. We coated the moulds with a wax separator (Trennmittel) so the silicon didn’t stick.
Next steps: * Modifying the gain of the microphone preamp to compensate for the silicon’s attenuation. * Including very low consumption LEDs on the PCB. * Add wax to make it easier to remove the silicon casing without damaging the sensor. * Test with higher grade silicon. * Design the casing shape for CNC milling of the mould. * Look into wireless charging. * Measure the heat generated by the power system.
