One Step Fabrication of Triaxial Force Plate Using a FDM 3D Printer

This paper reports a triaxial force plate which is entirely fabricated in a single step with a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer. The force plate consists of strain gauges and body structure. The strain gauges measure the force by fractional resistance changes, which is printed with electrical conductive poly-lactic acid (EC PLA). 3D printers specialize in forming three-dimensional parts, it can create multiple strain gauges of complex shapes simultaneously without any specific jigs such as photo masks. The body structure has a plate and pillars, which strain uniquely in response to the loaded triaxial forces. The prototype force plate fabricated by the proposed fabrication method was confirmed to respond independently to vertical and horizontal forces.