Development of vibration energy harvester fabricated by rapid prototyping technology

This paper presents a modification of the electromagnetic vibration energy harvester for autonomous applications, which was developed at Brno University of Technology. New design of the device is proposed to improve mass distribution and magnetic circuits' parameters of the vibration energy harvester. Open source FEMM finite element analysis software is used to optimize both stiffness and excitation magnetic circuits, and CAD software is employed to design individual parts and obtain mechanical properties of the harvester. Calculated parameters are then applied in Matlab/Simulink model to evaluate the harvesting output power and to find an optimal coil and electrical load. A rapid prototyping technology is used to create a testing prototype with plastic and metallic parts, which is then subjected to measurements and validation of simulation results.