This rubber sheet is made of the same carbon-black impregnated rubber material that our conductive rubber cord uses. Traditionally it would be used for EMF shielding or conductive gaskets – but it’s very fun to play with and we think it makes for an interesting stretch sensor or maybe a conductive material that is soft and conforming.

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In a ‘relaxed’ state, the bulk sheet resistivity is about 70 ohm*mm. As you pull on it, the resistance increases (the particles get further apart). You can stretch the rubber about 50-70% longer than the resting length, so a 6″ piece shouldn’t be stretched more than 10″. Once the force is released, the rubber will shrink back, although it’s not very ‘fast’ and it takes a minute or two to revert to its original length. It’s not a true linear sensor, and the resistance may vary from batch to batch, so we consider it a way to measure stretching motion but isn’t really precise.

This stuff is fun, so we give you a 200mm by 200mm square with 1mm thickness. You can easily cut this material with scissors or a die. You can use it as a conductor or add a 100 ohm resistor as a divider, then use our handy Thermistor tutorial to measure the analog voltage and convert that back to resistance.

Specifications

• Product Dimensions: 200.0mm x 200.0mm x 1.0mm
• Product Weight: 22.6g