Design and Development of a Fully Printed Accelerometer with a Carbon Paste-Based Strain Gauge

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Traditional accelerometers can be expensive and complex to manufacture.
• There is a need for cost-effective and efficient methods for sensor fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a fully printed accelerometer with a piezoresistive carbon paste strain gauge.
• To investigate the feasibility of using 3D printing and screen-printing/DIW technologies for accelerometer fabrication.
• To compare the performance of screen-printed and direct ink writing (DIW) strain gauges.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a sensor substrate using stereolithography apparatus (SLA) 3D printing.
• Screen-printing and DIW technologies for carbon paste strain gauge fabrication.
• Characterization of accelerometers with different strain gauge fabrication methods.
• Analysis of conductive and piezoresistive mechanisms of the carbon paste.

Main Results:

• The screen-printing process demonstrated higher precision on the sensor substrate compared to DIW.
• Both screen-printed and DIW strain gauge accelerometers were capable of measuring acceleration.
• The developed accelerometer is suitable for measuring body motion.

Conclusions:

• 3D printing technology is a significant method for sensor fabrication and verification.
• The proposed printed accelerometer offers a low-cost and high-efficiency manufacturing approach.
• This technology has potential applications in wearable motion sensing.