Design and calibration of 3D-printed micro force sensors

This paper reports the design and calibration of 3D-printed force sensors with micronewton resolutions. Two typical 3D-printing techniques, fused deposition method (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA), are employed to construct polymeric force sensor structures with feature sizes down to 0.3 mm. Two 3D-printed, strain-gauge force sensors are demonstrated to cover different force measurement ranges (0-2.5 mN and 0-120 mN) both with micronewton force resolutions (4.3 μN and 56 μN, respectively). The experimental technique presented here will allow rapid prototyping of high-performance force sensors using entry-level 3D printers, and could greatly facilitate the design and customization of force-sensing systems with various design requirements.