Figure 2
From: Digital manufacturing of personalised footwear with embedded sensors
Design and characterization of structural and piezoresistive inks. (a) Schematic of the DIW printing process of the CNCs-reinforced silicone resin used as structural ink. The cartoons illustrate the alignment of the surface-modified CNCs within the silicone matrix. (b) Storage and loss shear moduli of structural inks with different concentrations of CNCs. (c) Tensile moduli of composite inks prepared with distinct CNCs concentrations. The inset displays the effect of the printing direction on the tensile strength of the printed parts. (d) Grid-type structures with different infill densities printed with 12.5% (w/w) CNCs-reinforced ink. From bottom to top, the infill densities correspond to 100%, 50%, and 25%. (e) Compression moduli of the 12.5% CNCs-reinforced ink at different infill densities. (f) Surface 3D reconstructions of structural inks contain 5.0% (w/w) (top) and 12.5% (w/w) (bottom) CNC concentrations. Both samples were printed using a nozzle with a diameter of 0.62 mm. (g) Surface 3D reconstruction of a printed silver connector on a substrate printed with a 5.0% CNCs-reinforced ink. (h) Effect of different carbon black concentrations on the sensitivity of piezoresistive elements printed from inks containing 1-pentanol as diluent. Inset, sample normal sensor used for the determination of sensitivity.
