Abstract:

In our study, we delve into the potential of magnetically active polymers as base material for soft force sensors. The novelty of the approach lies in this elastomer’s dual role as a permanent magnet and soft interface which upon deformation exhibits a change in remanent magnetic field. We tested three distinct formulations, each permanently magnetized through their thickness and proceeded to characterize these variants mechanically, magnetically, and thermally, before shaping them into a hollow ring geometry mounted on a PCB with hall sensor for our force sensing purposes. We performed cyclic and stepwise loading compression tests up to 100 N on the produced sensor and observed a linear increase in remanent magnetic field with sensitivities of up to 9 μT/N . In addition, the temperature cycling tests of up to 75°C highlighted a constrained decrease of <7% of the initial remanent magnetic field. Combined with measured hardnesses spanning from 60 ShA to 70 ShA and densities <2g/cm3 , these elastomers show promise of mass manufacturable, low cost and compact force sensors for various contact applications.


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