This recent article has some careful measurements confirming many of the things we already know about building robust connectivity into e-textiles: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5419786/ They explore the use of TPU and Silicone (NB: they annoyingly misspell Silicone in many places as “silicon”).…
Environmental
Neoprene
Here is a source of antimicrobial neoprene: http://www.warco.com/sheet-rubber/neoprene/anti-microbial-neoprene/ Although there have been many announced attempts to replace neoprene in recent years, the only active ones I can find which are latex based are Yulex from the US and NaturalPrene TM…
Gold for PCBs and Connectors
Gold is considered a conflict mineral and it is interesting to consider how to minimize its use. Unfortunately it has become one of the most popular materials to plate PCBs with for SMT soldering. This article compares various options including…
Tantalum Capacitors
Tantalum is primarily used in electronics to build power supply decoupling capacitors. It is considered a conflict mineral so it is a good idea to minimize their use or insist on careful sourcing. Unfortunately, there is currently a worldwide shortage…