Neopixel strip flexibility/durability

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

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mmccloy
 
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Neopixel strip flexibility/durability

Post by mmccloy »

Hi,
I just ordered 5 meters of the NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip, 30 pixels per meter. I see it's quite flexible, I'm just curious how durable it will be? I'm planning to put this in my son's halloween costume, so it will be moving around quite a bit - what's the likelihood that the internal joints on the tape would wear out and break? I'm aiming to lay it out in such a way that it avoids getting directly bent or folded, but it's definitely going to experience a lot of movement. Just curious what to expect. Thanks!
Mike

Product link for reference:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1460?length=1

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Neopixel strip flexibility/durability

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The backing of the strips is quite flexible, but the chips and their solder joints are not. This creates a stress concentration at the solder-joints and with repeated flexing, one or more of the joints will ultimately fail.

If you design the costume such that movement creates only mild flexing, the strip will likely survive hundreds of thousands of flexing cycles. If the bends are more extreme, it could fail in just a few cycles.

One technique that works well to minimize flex in wearables is to cut the strip at the joints (elbows, knees, etc.) and bridge the joint with some super flexible silicone coated wire.
https://www.adafruit.com/?q=silicone%20

Be sure to strain-relieve the solder joints on the silicone wire with something like kapton tape or a blob of E6000 adhesive.

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mmccloy
 
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Re: Neopixel strip flexibility/durability

Post by mmccloy »

Awesome, thanks so much for that detailed reply! That makes good sense about cutting at the joints, I think I'll try just that as I get it put together. Thanks!

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