Hello, I have been reading about this technology and poking around the website, however I can't seem to figure out what tubing and connectors to use *externally* of the FlowIO device to create projects. I apologies if this is a silly question, but my background is in apparel design so my robotics knowledge set is currently shaky!
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Hi Megan, you are bringing up a really good point. You can connect pretty much any tube to the FlowIO device that is between 1 and 3mm internal diameter. However, that is the easy part.
The far more difficult and interesting part is, what kind of material should the tube be made of and how should you attach the other end of the tube to your own project. This is something that can be an enormous challenge depending on the kind of material your project is made of and the kind of interface you wish to have between the project and the tube. And then, if you choose to glue the tube to your project, you must then find an adhesive that can stick to both the tube material and the material of your project, which can take a lot of time and effort.
Fortunately, I have some suggestions for you because I myself had to go through this process when working on project Bubble and other similar projects, and tested over a dozen different adhesives and material types. And here are my findings:
A) Surgical and latex tubes are very stretchable, but nothing can stick to latex.
B) Vinyl tubes work with some adhesives, but they are quite rigid.
C) Silicone tubes are almost as flexible as latex tubes, but gluing them is possible with specialized adhesives.
Thus, I always go with Silicone tubes for my projects. There are only two adhesives that I have found to work well with silicone tubes - SilPoxy and TechBond.