Hi All.

Is there a small device akin to a sewing machine foot pedal that would adjust the speed of a motor depending on how hard you press on it? I'm looking for something you could put in your shoe-- I don't want anything fancy; I'm thinking 'Radio Shack' simplicity.

thanks in advance,

Frank

The foot switch rheostats I have seen are 120 volts. I'm not sure I would want one in my shoe...

I am assuming you want it for a small battery operated motor .What you're looking for is a potentiometer. The only ones I have ever seen is a slide pot which you adjust linearally or a trim pot which you turn by hand or a screwdriver

Nick

I don't really know anything about electronics (I guess I should have paid closer attention in high-school ) -- would this work to both activate and change the speed at which a tiny motor would run?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flexible......-Sensor/

It looks like it is just a momentary switch (on-off)

Simple on-off switches are used in tattoo shops to control their machines (don't call them 'guns' please). I used to have an "applause" sign I wired to a foot pedal switch. I used to exaggerate the movement of stepping on the switch various times throughout the show. By the middle of the show, I didn't need to use it.

Thanks for looking, guys.

I found a similar version the gal posted:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Conducti......_Sensor/

She says:
The resistance range of these pressure sensors depends a lot on the initial pressure. Ideally you have above 2M ohm resistance between both contacts when the sensor is lying flat. But this can vary, depending on how the sensor is sewn and how big the overlap of the adjacent conductive surfaces are. This is why I choose to sew the contacts as diagonal stitches of conductive thread - to minimize the overlap of conductive surface. But only the slightest touch of the finger will generally bring the resistance down to a few Kilo ohm and, when fully pressured, it goes down to about 200 ohm. The sensor still detects a difference, right down to about as hard as you can press with your fingers. The range is non-linear and gets smaller as the resistance decreases.


I'm presuming that by varying the resistance, you can vary the speed of a motor. Is that the way they work?


Here's the motor/ pump I'm looking at (the smallest one):
http://www.caswellplating.com/models/pumps.html

I'm not sure what sort of resistance would be compatibe with such a device, presuming I'm using a couple of batteries in series to get 6V out.

For tattoo machines, does the speed need to be controlled with the foot like a sewing machine, or are they just simply on/ off?

I found this that could be promising:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SMALL--TONGUE-FOOT-S......ViewItem

Yes varying the resistance will change motor speed.

Nick

If you want the pump to run slower just try using less batteries. For example to get 6 volts you would wire 4 batteries in series. Try removing batteries until you get the speed you're looking for. This is basically what you are doing with a potentiometer.

Nick

If you go to the website that you posted with the pump and type Nano speed control in the Search box this might be what you're looking for.

Nick

Thanks, Nick. I'll check that out!