Additive Manufacture of Composite Soft Pneumatic Actuators
Additive Manufacture of Composite Soft Pneumatic Actuators
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DOI：
10.1089/soro.2018.0030
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发表时间：
2018-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
7.9
通讯作者：
Holland, Donal P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Byrne, Oisin;Coulter, Fergal;Holland, Donal P.
本文提出了一种用于复合材料软气动致动器的直接增材制造方法，该致动器能够执行一系列可编程运动。通常，模制是用于制造软流体致动器的方法。这是材料、劳动和时间密集型的，并且缺乏有效地生产定制致动器的设计自由度。本文提出了一种替代的半自动化方法设计和制造复合软执行器。一种经济实惠的开源桌面三维（3D）打印机被改造成四轴组合式熔融沉积成型和膏体挤出打印机。设计了Grasshopper 3D算法，根据用户输入实现自定义致动器设计，生成G代码打印文件。弯曲、收缩和扭转运动致动器是参数化设计的，随后由硅树脂和热塑性弹性体（TPE）材料增材制造。实验测试完成这些致动器沿着与他们的构成材料。建立了执行器的有限元模型，对执行器的运动性能进行了仿真。复合软致动器具有数字化配置和直接增材制造定制运动的平台方法，有可能加速更复杂设计的开发，并在一系列领域产生潜在影响，包括软辅助设备的临床个性化和患者特定的生物医学设备。
This article presents a direct additive manufacturing method for composite material soft pneumatic actuators that are capable of performing a range of programmable motions. Commonly, molding is the method used to manufacture soft fluidic actuators. This is material, labor, and time intensive and lacks the design freedom to produce custom actuators efficiently. This article proposes an alternative semiautomated method of designing and manufacturing composite soft actuators. An affordable, open-source, desktop three-dimensional (3D) printer was modified into a four-axis, combined, fused deposition modeling, and paste extrusion printer. A Grasshopper 3D algorithm was devised to implement custom actuator designs according to user inputs, resulting in a G-code print file. Bending, contracting, and twisting motion actuators were parametrically designed and subsequently additively manufactured from silicone and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials. Experimental testing was completed on these actuators along with their constitutive materials. Finite element models were created to simulate the actuator's kinematic performance. Having a platform method to digitally configure and directly additively manufacture custom-motion, composite soft actuators has the potential to accelerate the development of more intricate designs and lead to potential impacts in a range of areas, including in-clinic personalization of soft assistive devices and patient-specific biomedical devices.