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In this study, we propose a straightforward approach that combines 3D printing with metal coating to create an array of resistive force sensors from a single material. The core concept involves printing a sensing element using a conductive material and subsequently separating it into distinct parts using metal-coated lines connected to the electrical ground. This post-printing separation process involves manual intervention utilizing a stencil and metallic spray. The primary obstacle lies in establishing a sufficient contact surface between the sprayed metal and the structure, to ensure effective isolation among different zones. To address this challenge, we suggest employing a lattice structure to augment the contact surface area. Through experimental validation, we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating two sensing elements from a single-material 3D-printed structure, with a maximum electrical isolation ratio between the sensors of above 30. These findings hold promise for the development of a new generation of low-tech 3D-printed force\/displacement sensor arrays.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24123854","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,14]],"date-time":"2024-06-14T08:02:26Z","timestamp":1718352146000},"page":"3854","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["A Simple Method to Manufacture a Force Sensor Array Based on a Single-Material 3D-Printed Piezoresistive Foam and Metal Coating"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2417-3187","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claude","family":"Humbert","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CiSMAT\u2014Carinthia Institute for Smart Materials, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, 9524 Villach, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mathis","family":"Barriol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CiSMAT\u2014Carinthia Institute for Smart Materials, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, 9524 Villach, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6847-6801","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sakine Deniz","family":"Varsavas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ADMiRE\u2014Additive Manufacturing, Intelligent Robotics and Engineering, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, 9524 Villach, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0575-1079","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pascal","family":"Nicolay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CiSMAT\u2014Carinthia Institute for Smart Materials, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, 9524 Villach, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mathias","family":"Brandst\u00f6tter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ADMiRE\u2014Additive Manufacturing, Intelligent Robotics and Engineering, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, 9524 Villach, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111963","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engstruct.2021.111963","article-title":"A comprehensive review of self-powered sensors in civil infrastructure: State-of-the-art and future research trends","volume":"234","author":"Salehi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eng. 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