• 한국기계가공학회지
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.81-88
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• 2020

In this paper, the performances of the electrical characteristics of the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D-printed flexible resistance sensor was evaluated. The FDM 3D printing flexible resistive sensor is composed of flexible-material thermoplastic polyurethane and a conductive PLA (carbon black conductive polylactic acid) polymer. While 3D printing, polymer filaments heat up quickly before being extruded and cooled down quickly. Polymers have poor thermal conductivity so the heating and cooling causes unevenness, which then results in internal stress on the printed parts due to the rapidity of the heating and cooling. Electrical resistance measurements show that the 3D-printed flexible sensor is unstable due to internal stress, so the 3D-printed flexible sensor resistance curve does not match the increases and decreases in the displacement curve. Therefore, annealing was performed to eliminate the mismatch between electrical resistance and displacement. Annealing eliminates residual stress on the sensor, so the electrical resistance of the sensor increases and decreases in proportion to displacement. Additionally, the resistance is lowered in comparison to before annealing. The results of this study will be very useful for the fabrication of various devices that employ 3D-printed flexible sensor that have multiple degrees of freedom and are not limited by size and shape.

• 한국기계가공학회지
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• 제19권10호
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• pp.111-116
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• 2020

Flexible tactile sensors, which are primarily used as grippers in robots, are mainly used to handle highly elastic or highly flexible objects. That is, flexible grippers are used when an object cannot be sufficiently controlled by applying a specific output force or taking a specific grabbing action. This is because a flexible tactile sensor needs to measure the pressure applied directly to held objects while deforming according to the shape of the object to be handled. CNT-based sensors used to be made from a highly flexible polymer to give flexibility and it is known that the sensors are greatly affected by the contact resistance of the terminal that connects the sensor to an electrical circuit; therefore, this paper clarifies the contact resistance of MWCNTs-based flexible tactile sensors and terminals. The effects of main and plating materials for terminals are investigated and the combinations of main and plating materials that exhibit contact resistance are measured in a typical industrial environment.