3D Printed Low Crosstalk 6-Axis Force Sensor Probe For Insects’ Jumping Force Measurement

This paper reports on a small 6-axis force sensor probe fabricated by a dual nozzle type fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer. The proposed sensor probe consists of two coaxially connected PLA supporting structures in the out-of-plane and in-plane directions. Eight strain gauges are formed by electrically conductive PLA (EC-PLA) at the stress concentrations in each PLA structure in one dual-material print with automatic alignment. Thus, three-directional forces and three-directional moments can be measured with low crosstalk from the fractional resistance change of the eight strain gauges. The sensor probe can be produced and reproducibly and easily modified according to the measurement target. The fabricated sensor probe was calibrated and conducted to have 0.1 mN of force and 0.1 mNm of moment resolution with low crosstalk. Using the fabricated sensor probe, we demonstrated that the grasshopper's sheer vector jumping force was measured as 1 mN, assuming the sensor probe was a branch.