Inkjet 3D printed vibrational energy harvester

Abstract

The concept of Internet of Things (IoT), sets a list of challenges we have to face for its fully functioning. One of them is power supply. In off-grid systems, the demand on the autonomous power generators is really high. In this paper we present for the first time inkjet 3D printed vibration power microgenerator. The principle of electricity generation in presented energy harvester relies on the electromagnetic induction of electricity in coil by vibrating magnet. Magnet is suspended on 3D printed microsprings. The device exhibits the highest generated voltage value in microspring resonant frequency (~250 Hz) and is equal to 0,5 V with output counted in mW. Microspring resonant frequency can be easily adjustable by changing their dimensions during designing step and 3D printing.