Fabrication of Flexible and Transferable RTDs via Fused Deposition Modelling 3D Printing

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printing is a simple and cost-effective manufacturing method. This study investigates the capabilities of using FDM 3D printing to produce simple Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) as temperature sensors. Two types of conductive PLA filaments were used: carbon black (CB) and graphene PLA filaments. The CB and graphene PLA sensors showed conductance of 0.0238 mS and 0.1042 mS respectively. When measuring the response of the sensors against a change in temperature ranging from 15 degrees C to 80 degrees C, the CB PLA sensor showed a sensitivity of 0.01416 +/- 0.00004 degrees C-1 whereas the graphene PLA sensor had a sensitivity of 0.00498 +/- 0.00004 degrees C-1. The 3D printed temperatures sensors showed good flexibility and stability, even after being transferred to different substrates.