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Micro-masonry for 3D Additive Micromanufacturing
Published on: August 1, 2014
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Soft grippers using micro-fibrillar adhesives for transfer printing
1Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 4, 2014
Summary
This study reports on fibrillar adhesives that conform to complex shapes for soft grippers. These grippers enable efficient transfer printing of 3D parts.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Robotics
- Adhesion Science
Background:
- Soft grippers are crucial for handling delicate or irregularly shaped objects.
- Traditional grippers struggle with non-planar geometries.
- Fibrillar adhesives offer unique conformability for enhanced gripping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adhesive properties of fibrillar adhesives on soft deformable membranes.
- To develop a soft gripper with improved conformation capabilities for 3D parts.
- To demonstrate the utility of such grippers in transfer printing applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a soft gripper utilizing an inflatable membrane.
- Coating the membrane with elastomer mushroom-shaped microfibers.
- Characterization of the adhesive forces and conformability of the microfibers.
- Testing the gripper's performance in transfer printing tasks.
Main Results:
- The microfibers provide superior conformation to non-planar 3D part geometries.
- The soft gripper demonstrates effective adhesion on deformable surfaces.
- Successful serial and parallel transfer printing of various parts was achieved.
Conclusions:
- Fibrillar adhesives on soft membranes significantly enhance gripper conformability.
- This technology enables precise and efficient handling of complex 3D objects.
- The developed soft gripper shows promise for advanced manufacturing and assembly processes.
