Energy harvesting with 3D-printed electrostatic generators

Abstract

An investigation is made about the practicability of building electrostatic generators suitable for energy harvesting applications using 3D-printed electromechanical structures. The generators are based on variable capacitors, using structures similar to Bennet's doubler, or more complex charge multipliers. Normal ABS plastic is used for insulating and mechanical structures, and conductive ABS is used for conducting parts as capacitor plates. As these generators work at very high impedance levels, the relatively high resistivity of the material used as conductor has acceptably small effect, and the technique can be used as an inexpensive alternative for experimenting with generator structures.