At Threeways we made a vibrotactile loop that can be activated using an on-board switch or an external switch plugged in through a Jack port in the device. Pressing the button to activates the vibration which is provided by a motor housed in a synthetic rubber and PVC repurposed from a massage tube. We had this tube spare after using the caps from it to fix 2 other massage tubes and thought it would be a shame to waste it, so the vibrotactile loop was born. This packs quite a punch and is a great tactile sensory tool.

The last image in the grid above is the Fritzing plan for the simple electronic set-up inside the main box. The components we used were:

Cool components big button. LED that came with the button. A 1/4 inch audio socket. A 3v regulator. A 9V battery clip with 9V battery, some wire and a piece of strip-board to connect it all up.

When using the 3v regulator be careful to check which pins are which before connecting. The motor requires 3v and the LED 12v so we used, as an in-between, a 9v battery with a regulator to allow 3v to go to the motor and the 9v to go straight to the LED.