Play-Doh Switch

Play-Doh makes an excellent material for building a playful and tactile switch. Below are a couple switch examples that take advantage of the compounds tactile and manipulative nature. Squish(video): Squishing the Play-Doh in a cup closes a circuit and turns on an LED embedded in the base of the cup. However, by manipulating the Doh you can get different results in the level of light emitted by the LED. Applying pressure provides different forms of resistance depending on how much of the switch’s contacts are pressed up against the Play-Doh. This can be used to give a sort of pulse-like effect.

Roll (video): Anybody who has played with Play-Doh likes to roll it up. It is probably the first thing you will do with it when you pull it out of the container. This switch is a fun way to turn an LED on or off by rolling the Play-Doh around on the surface to open and closing a circuit.