Understanding CoilPad

When working on projects that require movement or actuation, traditional motors can be bulky and challenging to integrate into compact designs. This is where CoilPad stands out - an incredibly thin coil designed to bring motion to your projects without taking any additional area.

In this post, we’ll explore the CoilPad’s fundamentals, functionality, and integration into your projects.

What is CoilPad?

The CoilPad is a magnetic sticker actuator - just 0.1mm thin, flexible, and designed to stick onto flat or curved surfaces with a maximum bending radius of 18mm.

By adding a magnet, you can create oscillating motion, turning it into a tiny actuator, converting electrical energy into mechanical movement. You can also hack it into the thin buzzer, micro-heater, or metal-detector!

How Does CoilPad Work?

When an electric current flows through its ultra-thin coil, it generates a magnetic field that interacts with external magnets. Depending on the current's direction, the magnet will either be attracted or repelled, creating movement.

By applying a square wave signal, the CoilPad can also vibrate, flap or oscillate continuously with adjustable speed and intensity.

• Apply a voltage (5V) to one pin and ground (0V) to the other, a magnet is repelled or attracted. Reverse the polarity, makes the magnet moves in the opposite direction.
• Use an H-Bridge or transistor to automate switching and make a CoilPad vibrate, flap or oscillate. An h-bridge like our tiny DriveCell modules, can adjust the speed of the oscillations and also the magnetic field strength of the coil, via Pulse width modulation (PWM). 
• Adding an iron or steel plate beneath the CoilPad doubles the magnetic field strength, turning it into a very weak electromagnet.
• When powering CoilPad at a constant 5V, can reach up to 100°C making it very useful as a micro-heater. However handle it with care to prevent injury.
  

Installing CoilPad

The CoilPad comes with a peelable adhesive back, allowing for quick and secure installation. Here’s how to apply it:

1. Clean the surface before attaching the CoilPad for a firm grip.

2. Peel off the adhesive cover using tweezers before powering the CoilPad.

3. Stick it onto the surface, ensuring it stays in place during operation.

4. Solder the terminals to your control circuit to start actuation.

Note: Always remove the adhesive cover before powering on the CoilPad to prevent damage to the adhesive layer.

Getting Your CoilPad Moving

To test your CoilPad:

1. Connect one pin to 5V and the other to ground – this will create an initial magnetic attraction or repulsion.

2. Swap the connections – reversing the polarity will switch the movement.

3. For continuous operation, use an H-Bridge circuit to automate the polarity switching. An H-Bridge is a circuit configuration composed of four transistors arranged in an "H" shape, allowing for bidirectional control of an actuator by reversing the current flow.

Keep things tiny

Solder the CoilPad directly to our DriveCell module to keep things compact. This has a DRV8837 H-Bridge driver packed into the smallest package, designed to handle low-power DC motors and actuators. 

Ready to start experimenting? Grab a CoilPad today and bring motion to your next project!

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