Finger Potentiometer

thingiverse

This thing serves as a music controller because it forms a variable resistor that can be adjusted with finger touch when printed using Proto-pasta conductive filament. The spiral shape of the thing bends under lateral pressure, changing the electrical resistance between its terminals. I like this thing just the way it is, but in reality, any shape can function as a resistor if made with conductive filament. Geometric shapes and ornamental or organic shapes come to mind, offering endless possibilities. Imagine the potential! I've chosen to use the default license for this item, which allows commercial use without restrictions, so feel free to use it for business purposes if needed. If you find a use for it in the business world or hobby world, please comment and/or post a make; this keeps me motivated to create more cool things. Thanks in advance for your support. The terminals on opposite sides have holes designed to accept 3mm or similar hardware. You should include washers suitable for both mechanical and electrical contact with the hardware. To use it electrically, connect one terminal to Vcc (+5V) from an Arduino, then attach the other terminal to the analog 5 (A5) pin. Next, link a 4.7 kOhm resistor to the A5 pin of the Arduino, connecting one lead to Ground and the other to the Arduino's A5 pin. These two elements form a voltage divider that converts the resistance value into a measured voltage in the Processing program. The program then translates this value into a frequency setting for the sine wave oscillator, which acts as the frequency modulated part of a Theremin or a VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator). In addition to serving as a VCO, the Processing program sends the OSC (Open Sound Control) signal back to any application on the computer via localhost, making it a general-purpose music controller. You will need to set the Serial Port (USB Port) by selecting from a list of detected ports; this process is described in the source code comments. To shut off the VCO, you must disable it by modifying the source code.