A Review of Extrusion-Based 3D Printing for the Fabrication of Electro- and Biomechanical Sensors

Schouten, Martijn; Wolterink, Gerjan; Dijkshoorn, Alexander; Kosmas, Dimitrios; Krijnen, Gijs

doi:10.1109/jsen.2020.3042436

Cited by 69 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 125 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Due to the non-linear effects on the resistance of the TPU material, the accuracy of the sensor is limited. Current research on compensation methods will help to improve the accuracy of these strain-sensitive TPU sensors [ 7 ]. These methods are, for example, based on analogous electrical models fitted to experimental data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years the interest in and development of 3D-printed sensors have increased due to the advent of multi-material printers and increasing availability of conductive thermoplastic materials [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. The introduction of soft and flexible materials with electrical properties creates the opportunity for applications in soft robotics [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These 3D-printed sensor structures have potential advantages for development of complex sensing structures that cannot be produced using traditional production methods, while still being highly customizable to fit to an individual user. Furthermore, these sensing structures may in the future be integrated into larger, multi-functional structures [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A 3D-Printed Soft Fingertip Sensor for Providing Information about Normal and Shear Components of Interaction Forces

Wolterink

Sanders

Beijnum

et al. 2021

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sensing of the interaction forces at fingertips is of great value in assessment and rehabilitation therapy. Current force sensors are not compliant to the fingertip tissue and result in loss of touch sensation of the user. This work shows the development and characterization of a flexible fully-3D-printed piezoresistive shear and normal force sensor that uses the mechanical deformation of the finger tissue. Two prototypes of the sensing structure are evaluated using a finite element model and a measurement setup that applies normal and shear forces up to 10 N on a fingertip phantom placed inside the sensing structure, which is fixed to prevent slippage. Furthermore, the relation between strain (rate) and resistance of the conductive TPU, used for the strain gauges, is characterized. The applied normal and shear force components of the 3D-printed sensing structure can be partly separated. FEM analysis showed that the output of the sensor is largely related to the sensor geometry and location of the strain gauges. Furthermore, the conductive TPU that was used has a negative gauge factor for the strain range used in this study and might cause non-linear behaviors in the sensor output.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A 3D-Printed Soft Fingertip Sensor for Providing Information about Normal and Shear Components of Interaction Forces

Wolterink

Sanders

Beijnum

et al. 2021

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…3D-printing objects with embedded conductive structures for sensing by means of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is an upcoming field of research [ 1 , 2 ], which is particularly popular for electrochemical [ 3 , 4 ] and electromechanical sensors [ 2 , 5 ]. Notable examples include elastic, piezoresistive strain sensors [ 6 , 7 ], temperature sensors [ 8 ], structural vibration sensors [ 9 , 10 ], and soft EMG sensors [ 11 ], among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only a few models of the anisotropic electrical conduction in 3D-prints can be found in the literature, where a concise overview is presented in [ 2 ]. The anisotropic conduction can be modeled by defining a different traxel, inter-traxel, and inter-layer resistance, which was demonstrated with a 1D example presented by Hampel et al [ 36 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling of Anisotropic Electrical Conduction in Layered Structures 3D-Printed with Fused Deposition Modelling

Dijkshoorn

Schouten

Krijnen

2021

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

3D-printing conductive structures have recently been receiving increased attention, especially in the field of 3D-printed sensors. However, the printing processes introduce anisotropic electrical properties due to the infill and bonding conditions. Insights into the electrical conduction that results from the anisotropic electrical properties are currently limited. Therefore, this research focuses on analytically modeling the electrical conduction. The electrical properties are described as an electrical network with bulk and contact properties in and between neighbouring printed track elements or traxels. The model studies both meandering and open-ended traxels through the application of the corresponding boundary conditions. The model equations are solved as an eigenvalue problem, yielding the voltage, current density, and power dissipation density for every position in every traxel. A simplified analytical example and Finite Element Method simulations verify the model, which depict good correspondence. The main errors found are due to the limitations of the model with regards to 2D-conduction in traxels and neglecting the resistance of meandering ends. Three dimensionless numbers are introduced for the verification and analysis: the anisotropy ratio, the aspect ratio, and the number of traxels. Conductive behavior between completely isotropic and completely anisotropic can be modeled, depending on the dimensionless properties. Furthermore, this model can be used to explain the properties of certain 3D-printed sensor structures, like constriction-resistive strain sensors.

show abstract

Single‐Process 3D‐Printed Triaxial Accelerometer

Arh

Slavič

2021

Adv Materials Technologies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For thermoplastic material extrusion 3D‐printing functional filaments with electrically conductive, piezoresistive, piezoelectric, capacitive or magnetic properties are developed. The functional filaments result in piezoresisitve static/quasi‐static sensors; however, these 3D‐printed sensors are manufactured in several processes, for example, the creation of highly conductive paths using embedded copper wires or by silver inking. The multi‐process 3D printing of sensors presents an obstacle to smart functional 3D‐printed structures where the sensory element is in situ printed at the location and orientation of use, including the electrical paths. This research introduces a three axial piezoresistive accelerometer where the whole sensor, including highly conductive electrical paths, is printed in the same process of thermoplastic material extrusion. The structural components of the sensor are printed with a non‐conductive polylactide material, the sensory element with a conductive material that has a relatively high resistivity, and the electrical paths with a conductive material that has a relatively low resistivity. As discussed in the manuscript with single‐process sensors, the functional tuning of sensors is as easy as changing the design. The design and manufacturing solutions researched for the triaxial accelerometer can be applied to other 3D‐printed sensors, for example, force sensors and opens up the possibility of a single‐process 3D‐printed smart structure.

show abstract

A Review of Extrusion-Based 3D Printing for the Fabrication of Electro- and Biomechanical Sensors

Cited by 69 publications

References 125 publications

A 3D-Printed Soft Fingertip Sensor for Providing Information about Normal and Shear Components of Interaction Forces

A 3D-Printed Soft Fingertip Sensor for Providing Information about Normal and Shear Components of Interaction Forces

Modelling of Anisotropic Electrical Conduction in Layered Structures 3D-Printed with Fused Deposition Modelling

Single‐Process 3D‐Printed Triaxial Accelerometer

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About