Bioinspired 3D printed scales for enhanced industrial gloves

仅在美国，每年就有数百万工人因手部受伤而被送往急诊室，其中30%的受伤工人使用的安全手套没有足够的保护。理想防护手套的要求是严格的。它们必须重量轻，灵活透气，它们必须抵抗撕裂，锋利的刺穿和挤压。目前还没有安全手套可以同时满足这套**规格。目前，大多数防护手套是由浸渍了弹性体的纺织品制成的，**可以抵抗低强度的撕裂，但对刺穿的保护效果很差。我们最初的Engage Grant**与Superior Glove的**产品一起探索了我们新的陶瓷仿生规模设计的可行性和性能。我们已经达到了为那个项目设定的所有目标。凭借我们新的生物启发鳞片手套策略，Superior glove已经认识到一种新产品的潜力，这种新产品将扰乱安全设备市场。然而，Superior Glove指出，由于手掌侧手指关节**处过度僵硬，灵巧度会下降。我们共同决定开始探索由丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯（ABS）制成的鳞片，作为陶瓷的替代品。ABS是一种相对坚韧、坚固和坚硬的聚合物。然而，它比我们一直使用的陶瓷柔韧性高**~100倍，因此可以获得一些柔韧性。此外，尺度可以很容易地创建使用我们的3D打印机，这将给我们一个广泛的纬度来探索不同厚度，大小和排列的尺度。为了实现这一目标，我们建议(1)在Superior Glove的衬垫材料上3D打印ABS**鳞片，(2)评估这些材料对尖锐刺穿的抵抗能力，以及**(3)评估这些材料的柔韧性。拟议中的合作将为该技术的未来发展提供重要的指导方针，而该项目中出现的手套原型将代表着迈向商业化的第一步。通过这个项目，Superior Glove不仅可以获得关于这些材料的新的和独特的知识，还可以用新的知识和数据培训其工程师。拟议的**项目预计将导致麦吉尔和优手套之间的长期合作。

Hand injuries send millions of workers to the emergency room every year in the US only and in 30% of these**cases, injured workers were using safety gloves with insufficient protection. The requirements for ideal**protective gloves are stringent. They must be light weight, flexible and breathable, they must resist lacerations**sharp puncture and crushing. There is currently no safety glove that can simultaneously satisfy this set of**specifications. The majority of protective gloves are currently made of textiles impregnated with elastomers,**which can resist low force lacerations, but offer poor protection against piercing. Our original Engage Grant**explored the feasibility and performance of our new ceramic bioinspired scale designs with Superior Glove's**products. We have achieved all the objectives set for that project. With our new bioinspired scaled glove**strategy Superior Glove has recognized the potential for a new product that would disrupt the safety equipment**market. However, Superior Glove noted a decrease in dexterity due to excessive stiffness near the finger joints**on the palm side of the hand. We have jointly decided to start exploring scales made of acrylonitrile butadiene**styrene (ABS) as an alternative to ceramics. ABS is a relatively tough, strong and stiff polymer. It is however**~100 times more flexible than the ceramic we have been using so that some flexibility can be gained. In**addition, the scales can be easily created using our 3D printer, which will give us a wide latitude to explore**scales of different thickness, size and arrangement. To achieve this objective we propose to (1) 3D print ABS**scales on Superior Glove's liner materials, (2) evaluate the resistance to sharp puncture of these materials and**(3) evaluate the flexibility of these materials. The proposed collaboration will result in important guidelines for**the future development of the technology, and the prototype gloves emerging from this project will represent a**first step towards commercialization. Through this project Superior Glove will not only gain new and unique**knowledge in those materials, it will also train its engineers with new knowledge and data. The proposed**project is expected to lead to longer-term collaborations between McGill and Superior Glove.