Protecting the APDS 9960

Protecting the APDS 9960#192838

By Eric Pellaton - Mon Jan 09, 2017 4:08 pm

- Mon Jan 09, 2017 4:08 pm #192838

Great product. I made an nice project with it. But my project is for outside use and I need to protect it. I read the datasheet for the APDS 9660 (page 18) and they suggest to cover it with a rubber with 2 holes. I must say that it really improve the detection of the gestures especially the NEAR and the FAR. They also suggest to cover it with a 1mm with a specific Makrolon or Lexan window. I cannot find any of these products on Internet. Anybody has any suggestion? Sparkfun rocks

Re: Protecting the APDS 9960#192847

By DanV - Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:39 am

- Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:39 am #192847

You certainly didn't look very hard.
Makrolon or Lexan are polycarbonate - tons of other brand names are also.
any plastic supplier will carry at least one polycarbonate brand. call them and see if they have any offcuts you can get for cheap.

Lowes (for example) has 28" x 30" x 0.093 (2mm) :
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LEXAN-2-3333-f ... et/3143411

Re: Protecting the APDS 9960#192853

By Eric Pellaton - Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:45 pm

- Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:45 pm #192853

Thanks,
Yes, I can find Makrolon and Lexan but it seems that Visible light transmission and Refractive index are important.
Makrolon LQ2647 87% 1.587
Makrolon LQ3147 87% 1.587
Makrolon LQ3187 85% 1.587
Lexan OQ92S 88 - 90% -
Lexan OQ4120R 88 - 90% 1.586
Lexan OQ4320R 88 - 90% 1.586

I tried some other basic polycarbonate sheets without success at all. So I thought that I needed to find the right one as specify above. which I can't find.
I will order the sheet at Lowes and try again.

Re: Protecting the APDS 9960#192855

By theropod - Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:55 pm

- Tue Jan 10, 2017 4:55 pm #192855

Try the extracted center segment of a 2 litre soda bottle. The tall straight clear bottles represents a cylinder which can be cut and flattened into a nice sheet. Surprisingly resistant to weathering. When gently heated, such as with an electric heat gun, the plastic will shrink fit to an extent. The lens from a flashlight with the bulb/led removed? A small glass jar?

RS

Re: Protecting the APDS 9960#192871

By Eric Pellaton - Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:31 pm

- Wed Jan 11, 2017 12:31 pm #192871

Thanks.
I will try the suggestions.

Re: Protecting the APDS 9960#192935

By Eric Pellaton - Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:52 pm

- Mon Jan 16, 2017 4:52 pm #192935

I tried all type of Lexan and Makrolon (standard sheet for Lowes and Amazon). Also tired different plastic around the house (cd plastic cover.. etc) without any successes. Also tried different thickness.
I guess that Visible light transmission and Refractive index are important, but no vendors specify them.
Too bad I cannot find the right ones.
I'm still open to suggestions.
Thanks

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