Abstract
Various machines require data from their external environments for safety and/or accuracy. In this respect, many sensors that mimic the human sensory system have been investigated. Among these, tactile sensors may be useful for obtaining data on the roughness of, and external forces acting upon, an object. Several tactile sensors have been developed; however, these are typically fabricated via a series of complex processes, and hence are unsuitable for volume manufacturing. In this paper, we report a fabrication process for a 4×4 mm matrix flexible sensor element using layered manufacturing and direct-write technology. A composite composed of photocurable resin and Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was used as the sensing material. The MWCNTs were mixed with the photocurable resin using ultrasonic dispersion, and the liquid mixture exhibited excellent piezoresistive properties following curing using ultraviolet light. The used photocurable resin is flexible and elastic after curing. Therefore, the composite material can be bent and deformed. To use this composite material with the flexible sensor, dispensing characteristics were examined using direct-write technology. For the acquisition of sensor data, a commercial pin-header was inserted and photocurable resin was filled up to the height of pin-header and cured. Then, the composite material was dispensed onto the pin-header as a sensing material. Using this process, a flexible sensor with piezoresistive properties was formed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
J. Y. Kim, S. H. Baek and J. J. Lee, Development of fabricbased optical fiber tactile sensor using optical fiber, Journal of Korean Sensors Society, 18 (3) (2009) 210–216.
M. S. Kim, Y. K. Park and S. Y. Kwon, Tactile device that mimics human’s sensory system, Physics & High Technology, 19 (2010) 15–22.
R. S. Dahiya, G. Metta, M. Valle and G. Sandini, Tactile sensing -From humans to humanoids, Proc. of the IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 26 (1) (2010) 1–20.
H. Kawaguchi, T. Someya, T. Sekitani and T. Sakurai, Cutand-paste customization of organic FET integrated circuit and its application to electronic artificial skin, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, 40 (2005) 177–185.
H. K. Lee, S. I. Chang and E. S. Yoon, A flexible polymer tactile sensor; Fabrication and modular expandability for large area deployment, Journal of Micromechanical Systems, 15 (6) (2006) 1681–1686.
Y. J. Yang, M. Y. Cheng, W. Y. Chang, L. C. Tsao, S. A. Yang, W. P. Shih, F. Y. Chang, S. H. Chang and K. C. Fan, An integrated flexible temperature and tactile sensing array using PI-copper film, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 143 (1) (2008) 143–153.
E. J. Yun, J. Y. Kim and S. T. Lee, Optimization on the fabrication process of Si pressure sensors utilizing Piezo resistive effect, Journal of the Institute of Electronics of Korea, 42 (2005) 19–24.
M. Vatani, E. Engeberg and J. W. Choi, Force and slip detection with direct-write compliant tactile sensors using multi-walled carbon nanotube/polymer composites, Sensor and Actuators A: Physical, 195 (2013) 90–97.
I. H. Lee and S. G. Woo, Dispensing characteristics of conductive material for the flexible tactile sensor, International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems 2013 (2013) 148–150.
S. G. Woo, I. H. Lee, J. W. Choi, H. C. Kim and H. Y. Cho, Flexible sensor material using photopolymer and MWCNTs mixture, Proceedings of KSME Autumn Conference (2013) 3241–3244.
C. Cattin and P. Hubert, Piezoresistance in polymer nanocomposites with high aspect ratio particles, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 6 (3) (2014) 1804–1811.
H. D. Nago, T. Tekin, T. C. Vu, M. Fritz, W. Kurniawan, B. Mukhopadhyay, A. Kolitsch, M. Schiffer and K. D. Lang, MEMS sensor with giant piezoresistive effect using metalsemiconductor hybrid structure, Actuators and Microsystems Conference (2013) 1018–1021.
S. H. Jin, J. K. Lee, S. Lee and K. C. Lee, Output characteristics of a flexible tactile sensor manufactured by 3D printing technique, Journal of Korean Society Precision Engineering, 31 (2) (2014) 149–156.
S. H. Jin, Design of signal processing system for flexible tactile sensor manufactured by 3D-printing technique, Busan National University (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Recommended by Editor Haedo Jeong
In Hwan Lee majored in mechanical engineering and graduated from Sung Kyun Kwan University in 1990, and then, he completed a master’s degree from the same university in 1992. Then he completed a Ph.D. at POSTECH in 2003. Currently, he is a professor at the Chungbuk National University.
Sang-Gu Woo majored in mechanical engineering and graduated from Chungbuk National University in 2013, and then, he completed a master’s degree from the same university in 2015. Currently, he is working in the Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Woo, SG., Lee, I.H. & Lee, KC. Hybrid fabrication process of additive manufacturing and direct writing for a 4×4 mm matrix flexible tactile sensor. J Mech Sci Technol 29, 3905–3909 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0836-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0836-0