Flexonic Actuators

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The objective of this project is to develop a printable actuator and associated joints and couplings to enable "flexonic" systems, that is, fully printable mechatronic systems that require no assembly. The fabrication processes (2D and 3D inkjet printing) should achieve low cost. The approach is to use soluble and thermoplastic elastomers and ink-jetting technology. The project will explore actuator materials and tailoring of their properties through polymer chemistry and nano-particle compositing.Intellectual MeritThere has been much recent progress on printable electronics. That work will enable low-cost displays, RFID tags, smart packaging etc. There is also a mature industry devoted to 3D prototyping with plastics, which include SLS (Sintering) and FDM (Fused-Deposition) processes. Some of these processes approach the material integrity (e.g. strength) of injection-molded plastic. The goal is to develop high-performance, printable actuators and associated joints and couplings, to support the printing of complete mechatronic systems.To achieve an effective printable actuator requires progress in several device areas of technical interest:(i) Actuator materials: this requires testing of various soluble and thermoplastic polymers, and refinement of their key properties: dielectric coefficient, dielectric breakdown, and modulus.(ii) Flexible contacts: electric contacts to the actuators must achieve a modulus comparable with the material itself, which is significantly lower than current flexible contacts.(iii) 2.5D and 3D printing techniques: fabrication of polymer mechanical structures requires progress in areas such as (a) sacrificial support layers (b) homogeneity of jetted sheets (c) planarity of multi-layer structures. Broader ImpactsHigh-impact future implications include inexpensive, user- and task-specific prostheses, aids for mobility and everyday tasks for the elderly, and for those with physical disability. The mechatronic printer would support the rapid deployment of robots for high-risk tasks, and for search and rescue following natural disasters.A mechatronic printer should dramatically decrease time-to-market in many product markets, because it enables more rapid creation and testing of prototypes. A mechatronic printer would have an important role in design and engineering education. The PI created an interdisciplinary design lab (The Berkeley Institute of Design), which contains several commercial rapid-prototyping systems. He also teaches a graduate course "Design Realization 2" which covers rapid prototyping and basic physics and chemistry of materials, and active polymers. The eventual goal is to introduce the printer developed in this research as a prototyping tool into the design lab. This project will primarily support graduate student training. Undergraduates are also participating in the project and support is being sought for them separately.The results of this work will be disseminated at well-known conferences (e.g. SPIE EAPAD) and on Berkeley web sites. Any code developed will be available on the web.