This morning I visited the HaVeP firm in Goirle, the Netherlands. HaVeP is a very old company specialised in work wear. I had e-mailed them earlier about this project and asked if I could visit them. I wanted to see different materials and find out where I could buy the materials they used in their products.
They were interested in my project and glad to help, so I set of to Goirle this morning. I didn’t realize that until recently they produced their own fabrics and garments. They’re still housed in the 150 year old factory where they store hundreds of rolls of fabric. They even have their own looms for weaving.
I explained the project and my goals. Apparently Philips have approached them for a similar collaboration: integrating sensors and electronics in work wear. So this is clearly where we’re heading.
After our talk the manager took me to the sewing studio where there were a lot of fabric samples. I chose five different colours to work with and she was very generous. So I have more than enough fabric to experiment with. The fabric I got is N5 quality and looks really nice, kind of glossy it’s also impregnated to be water repellent which is a nice protection for the wiring. She also had a nice suggestion for the area where the sensors have to come into contact with the air. I can use a piece of transparent plastic and make (small) holes in it. That way the electronics will still be protected.
There are also reflective strips in different colours and widths. The Norwegian company Sto-nor has them in all sizes. She already gave me two strips in yellow and orange.
For testing purposes I also received a piece of anti-static material. I can’t measure any conductivity…