scholarly journals 3D-Printed Liquid Cell Resonator with Piezoelectric Actuation for In-Line Density-Viscosity Measurements

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 7654
Author(s):  
Javier Toledo ◽  
Víctor Ruiz-Díez ◽  
Jaime Velasco ◽  
Jorge Hernando-García ◽  
José Luis Sánchez-Rojas

The in-line monitoring of liquid properties, such as density and viscosity, is a key process in many industrial areas such as agro-food, automotive or biotechnology, requiring real-time automation, low-cost and miniaturization, while maintaining a level of accuracy and resolution comparable to benchtop instruments. In this paper, 3D-printed cuboid-shaped liquid cells featuring a rectangular vibrating plate in one of the sides, actuated by PZT piezoelectric layers, were designed, fabricated and tested. The device was resonantly excited in the 3rd-order roof tile-shaped vibration mode of the plate and validated as a density-viscosity sensor. Furthermore, conditioning circuits were designed to adapt the impedance of the resonator and to cancel parasitic effects. This allowed us to implement a phase-locked loop-based oscillator circuit whose oscillation frequency and voltage amplitude could be calibrated against density and viscosity of the liquid flowing through the cell. To demonstrate the performance, the sensor was calibrated with a set of artificial model solutions of grape must, representing stages of a wine fermentation process. Our results demonstrate the high potential of the low-cost sensor to detect the decrease in sugar and the increase in ethanol concentrations during a grape must fermentation, with a resolution of 10 µg/mL and 3 µPa·s as upper limits for the density and viscosity, respectively.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merel van der Stelt ◽  
Martin P. Grobusch ◽  
Abdul R. Koroma ◽  
Marco Papenburg ◽  
Ismaila Kebbie ◽  
...  

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1977
Author(s):  
Ricardo Oliveira ◽  
Liliana M. Sousa ◽  
Ana M. Rocha ◽  
Rogério Nogueira ◽  
Lúcia Bilro

In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the capability to inscribe long-period gratings (LPGs) with UV radiation using simple and low cost amplitude masks fabricated with a consumer grade 3D printer. The spectrum obtained for a grating with 690 µm period and 38 mm length presented good quality, showing sharp resonances (i.e., 3 dB bandwidth < 3 nm), low out-of-band loss (~0.2 dB), and dip losses up to 18 dB. Furthermore, the capability to select the resonance wavelength has been demonstrated using different amplitude mask periods. The customization of the masks makes it possible to fabricate gratings with complex structures. Additionally, the simplicity in 3D printing an amplitude mask solves the problem of the lack of amplitude masks on the market and avoids the use of high resolution motorized stages, as is the case of the point-by-point technique. Finally, the 3D printed masks were also used to induce LPGs using the mechanical pressing method. Due to the better resolution of these masks compared to ones described on the state of the art, we were able to induce gratings with higher quality, such as low out-of-band loss (0.6 dB), reduced spectral ripples, and narrow bandwidths (~3 nm).


HardwareX ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. e00214
Author(s):  
David T. McCarthy ◽  
Baiqian Shi ◽  
Miao Wang ◽  
Stephen Catsamas
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  

Author(s):  
Romain Nicot ◽  
Edwige Hurteloup ◽  
Sébastien Joachim ◽  
Charles Druelle ◽  
Jean-Marc Levaillant

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2518
Author(s):  
Nunzio Cennamo ◽  
Lorena Saitta ◽  
Claudio Tosto ◽  
Francesco Arcadio ◽  
Luigi Zeni ◽  
...  

In this work, a novel approach to realize a plasmonic sensor is presented. The proposed optical sensor device is designed, manufactured, and experimentally tested. Two photo-curable resins are used to 3D print a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. Both numerical and experimental analyses are presented in the paper. The numerical and experimental results confirm that the 3D printed SPR sensor presents performances, in term of figure of merit (FOM), very similar to other SPR sensors made using plastic optical fibers (POFs). For the 3D printed sensor, the measured FOM is 13.6 versus 13.4 for the SPR-POF configuration. The cost analysis shows that the 3D printed SPR sensor can be manufactured at low cost (∼15 €) that is competitive with traditional sensors. The approach presented here allows to realize an innovative SPR sensor showing low-cost, 3D-printing manufacturing free design and the feasibility to be integrated with other optical devices on the same plastic planar support, thus opening undisclosed future for the optical sensor systems.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Mads Jochumsen ◽  
Taha Al Muhammadee Janjua ◽  
Juan Carlos Arceo ◽  
Jimmy Lauber ◽  
Emilie Simoneau Buessinger ◽  
...  

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been proven to be useful for stroke rehabilitation, but there are a number of factors that impede the use of this technology in rehabilitation clinics and in home-use, the major factors including the usability and costs of the BCI system. The aims of this study were to develop a cheap 3D-printed wrist exoskeleton that can be controlled by a cheap open source BCI (OpenViBE), and to determine if training with such a setup could induce neural plasticity. Eleven healthy volunteers imagined wrist extensions, which were detected from single-trial electroencephalography (EEG), and in response to this, the wrist exoskeleton replicated the intended movement. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited using transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured before, immediately after, and 30 min after BCI training with the exoskeleton. The BCI system had a true positive rate of 86 ± 12% with 1.20 ± 0.57 false detections per minute. Compared to the measurement before the BCI training, the MEPs increased by 35 ± 60% immediately after and 67 ± 60% 30 min after the BCI training. There was no association between the BCI performance and the induction of plasticity. In conclusion, it is possible to detect imaginary movements using an open-source BCI setup and control a cheap 3D-printed exoskeleton that when combined with the BCI can induce neural plasticity. These findings may promote the availability of BCI technology for rehabilitation clinics and home-use. However, the usability must be improved, and further tests are needed with stroke patients.


Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 422
Author(s):  
Dana Ashkenazi ◽  
Alexandra Inberg ◽  
Yosi Shacham-Diamand ◽  
Adin Stern

Additive manufacturing (AM) revolutionary technologies open new opportunities and challenges. They allow low-cost manufacturing of parts with complex geometries and short time-to-market of products that can be exclusively customized. Additive manufactured parts often need post-printing surface modification. This study aims to review novel environmental-friendly surface finishing process of 3D-printed AlSi10Mg parts by electroless deposition of gold, silver, and gold–silver alloy (e.g., electrum) and to propose a full process methodology suitable for effective metallization. This deposition technique is simple and low cost method, allowing the metallization of both conductive and insulating materials. The AlSi10Mg parts were produced by the additive manufacturing laser powder bed fusion (AM-LPBF) process. Gold, silver, and their alloys were chosen as coatings due to their esthetic appearance, good corrosion resistance, and excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. The metals were deposited on 3D-printed disk-shaped specimens at 80 and 90 °C using a dedicated surface activation method where special functionalization of the printed AlSi10Mg was performed to assure a uniform catalytic surface yielding a good adhesion of the deposited metal to the substrate. Various methods were used to examine the coating quality, including light microscopy, optical profilometry, XRD, X-ray fluorescence, SEM–energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM, and XPS analyses. The results indicate that the developed coatings yield satisfactory quality, and the suggested surface finishing process can be used for many AM products and applications.


ACS Omega ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 6118-6122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather D. Whitehead ◽  
Julia V. Waldman ◽  
Denise M. Wirth ◽  
Gabriel LeBlanc
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Sara Condino ◽  
Giuseppe Turini ◽  
Virginia Mamone ◽  
Paolo Domenico Parchi ◽  
Vincenzo Ferrari

Simulation for surgical training is increasingly being considered a valuable addition to traditional teaching methods. 3D-printed physical simulators can be used for preoperative planning and rehearsal in spine surgery to improve surgical workflows and postoperative patient outcomes. This paper proposes an innovative strategy to build a hybrid simulation platform for training of pedicle screws fixation: the proposed method combines 3D-printed patient-specific spine models with augmented reality functionalities and virtual X-ray visualization, thus avoiding any exposure to harmful radiation during the simulation. Software functionalities are implemented by using a low-cost tracking strategy based on fiducial marker detection. Quantitative tests demonstrate the accuracy of the method to track the vertebral model and surgical tools, and to coherently visualize them in either the augmented reality or virtual fluoroscopic modalities. The obtained results encourage further research and clinical validation towards the use of the simulator as an effective tool for training in pedicle screws insertion in lumbar vertebrae.


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