Fabrication and Analysis of a Composite 3D Printed Capacitive Force Sensor

Abstract Fiber encapsulation additive manufacturing (FEAM) and thermoplastic elastomer additive manufacturing (TEAM) are combined to create a composite capacitive force sensor. This work presents analysis on a capacitive force sensor developed by combining the advantages of FEAM and TEAM. The capacitive sensor consists of a 3D printed rigid frame with embedded wires in a tight spiral pattern that emulates a flat plate capacitor and a thermoplastic elastomer dielectric spacer that compresses under applied force. An approximately linear response for the corresponding capacitance change versus applied load is obtained to evaluate the printed capacitor effectiveness as a force sensor.

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