Integrated 3D Printing of Robotic Structures and Circuits

Abstract

Advances in upper limb prostheses have lowered the cost of prosthetic limbs, enabling access for a larger population of amputees. Other advancements, such as robotic prosthetics, enable amputees to more easily grasp objects at will. Some prostheses can even restore the sensation of touch to an amputee. Adding functionality to the prosthetic devices can also increase the price. 3D-printing offers a means to produce prostheses at a lower cost. Work has already been done to create a 3D-printed robotic prosthetics. This thesis presents preliminary research in the direction of a 3Dprinted, sensing prosthetic hand. One way of reducing cost and increasing reliability is to print conductive elements into the structural components of prostheses instead inserting or attaching them after fabrication. I use a new conductive PLA plastic, F-Electric TM, to print the paths for the sensor data to travel. In this thesis, I establish a set of procedures for mixed material printing, in which one of the materials is electrically conductive. I construct several pressure sensors utilizing the conductive material for the electrodes. The sensors nominally perform as expected and can be seen as a step towards a 3D-printed tactile sensing prosthetic hand.