Dual-Extrusion 3D Printing of Graphene-Based Composites for Strain Sensing Applications

This paper presents an experimental method of fused deposition modeling FDM 3D printing (3DP) technology. A combination of Graphene-based conductive filament with an encapsulate insulating substrate was possible to be simultaneously 3D printed using a dual extrusion 3D printer. The electrical and mechanical properties of the 3D-printed samples were explored throughout this paper. We investigated the viability of graphene-filled polymer composites for the potential to sense strain deformations. Carbon-based Graphene nanomaterial proved to be excellent conducting fillers to the thermoplastic polylactic (PLA) polymer matrix and be used as visible 3D printable filament. Using polyurethane-based flexible polymer encapsulate along with the advantage of 3D printing shows great promise to overcome the rigidity of the PLA-based conductive filament for strain-sensing applications.