3D Printed Low-Cost Force-Torque Sensors

• Main Authors: Norman Hendrich, Florens Wasserfall, Jianwei Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 2020-01-01
• Series: IEEE Access
• Subjects: Force and tactile sensing; force-torque sensor; optical force sensing; 3D printing; fused-filament fabrication (FFF); sensor calibration
• Online Access: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9133543/

Force sensing is essential for many manipulation tasks and, more generally, for all robots physically interacting with their environment. While multi-axis force/torque sensors are readily available commercially, their cost and complex integration have so far limited a wide deployment. In this paper, we introduce a modular approach to design and to integrate low-cost force sensors directly into 3D printed robot parts. Based on off-the-shelf optical sensors embedded into deformable structures, sensitivity and load capacity can be selected from a wide range. A working six-axis sensor, including electronics, can be built for less than 20 dollars, plus a few hours of 3D printing. We present tested example designs for sensors of different complexity, from a basic one-dimensional deflecting beam to six-axis sensors with custom shapes. We summarize the basic sensor layout geometries, explain key 3D printing and integration aspects, discuss sensor calibration, and describe our Arduino firmware and ROS-based drivers.