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Rapid Manufacturing of Thin Soft Pneumatic Actuators and Robots
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3D Printing Microactuators for Soft Microrobots.

Manav Tyagi1,2, Geoffrey M Spinks2, Edwin W H Jager1,2

  • 1Sensor and Actuator Systems, Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Soft Robotics
|April 25, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a 3D printing method for soft microactuators and microrobots, enabling fabrication of devices in the micrometer scale. This breakthrough overcomes previous size limitations in soft robotics manufacturing.

Keywords:
3D printingmicroactuatorsmicrorobotssoft robotics

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Robotics
  • Microfabrication

Background:

  • Current additive manufacturing techniques for soft robotics are limited to millimeter scales.
  • There is a need for fabricating smaller soft robotic devices for advanced applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present an additive manufacturing approach for fabricating soft microactuators and microrobots.
  • To demonstrate the fabrication of devices in the micrometer domain.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a custom-built extrusion 3D printer for microfabrication.
  • Designed and printed microactuators and microrobotic devices using computer-aided design models.
  • Integrated electroactive polymers for actuation.

Main Results:

  • Successfully fabricated microactuators with dimensions as small as 300 × 1000 μm² and a minimum thickness of 20 μm.
  • Demonstrated the fabrication and operation of microactuators with lengths ranging from 1000 to 5000 μm.
  • Explored the microfabrication of microrobotic devices with individually controlled components.

Conclusions:

  • The developed 3D printing technique enables the microfabrication of soft robotic components.
  • This method offers a versatile and simple approach for creating microscale soft grippers, manipulators, and microrobots.