Conductive FDM Filament: Electrical Resistivity Assessment and Sensor Applications
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Fros, Denis; Kralova, Iva
- Source
- 2023 46th International Spring Seminar on Electronics Technology (ISSE) Electronics Technology (ISSE), 2023 46th International Spring Seminar on. :1-7 May, 2023
- Subject
- Aerospace
Bioengineering
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Computing and Processing
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
General Topics for Engineers
Photonics and Electrooptics
Power, Energy and Industry Applications
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Temperature sensors
Temperature measurement
Resistance
Loading
Programmable logic arrays
Conductivity
Strain measurement
fused deposition modeling
conductive filament
electrical resistivity
touch sensor
strain gauge
- Language
- ISSN
- 2161-2536
A conductive filament proposed for Fused Deposition Modeling was produced and evaluated in terms of electrical resistivity. Thermoplastic polyester polylactic acid (PLA) was selected as a pristine polymer. Carbon black (CB) was added to PLA to improve the electrical conductivity. The incorporation ratio of the CB in PLA was set to 30 wt.%. Neat polymer and another commercially available filament with CB filling were included in the measurements and comparison. Volume and surface resistivity was measured perpendicularly to the printing direction. Further, the resistivity evaluation of the materials was performed in the same direction as the filament deposition. This resistivity was determined using a four-wire measuring method and purposefully designed specimens. A decrease of twelve orders of volume resistivity was observed for filled PLA. Mechanical properties were determined via tensile testing. The behavior of the material under thermomechanical loading was observed by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Glass transition temperature was determined from DMA diagrams. A touch sensor in the form of circular electrodes was prepared for the purpose of practical use assessment. The functionality of the sensor was verified by switching the transistor, which controlled the LED. Magnitudes of electric current flowing through the sensor at various supplied voltage levels were monitored. The second practical utilization was demonstrated by the strain gauge. The sensor for bending detection was designed to exhibit resistivity in hundreds of kiloohms. The strain sensing behavior of the strain gauge was determined by conducting tensile loading.