Towards Printing Mechatronics: 3D-printed conductive interfacing for digital signals

The use of additive manufacturing within the field of mechatronics creates exciting oportunities for the integration of digital systems into advanced mechanical devices. This paper has investigated the design considerations inherent to the the 3D printing of a conductive interface between a microcontroller and a digital sensor. The leads of the sensor and the pins of the microcontroller were successfully coupled exclusively through a 3D-printed coupling consisting of both conductive and non-conductive FDM material, manufactured in a single print on an entry-level device. The coupling has been removed and repositioned several times with no functionality change, proving that the 3D printing considerations were valid in terms of maintaining sufficient pressure on the component terminals so as to create enough conductive paths within the material to drive the sensor properly. An impedance analysis and operational testing have been performed, and considerations concerning the robustness of the design have been drawn, all with respect to future improvements and the expansion towards related applications.