Additive Manufacturing of 3D Conductive Polypyrrole Transducers (AM-3DCPT)

3D 导电聚吡咯传感器的增材制造 (AM-3DCPT)

• 批准号: 548813-2020
• 负责人: Price, Aaron
• 金额: $ 9.11万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Idea to Innovation
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=701045
• 关键词: Additive; Manufacturing; 3D; Conductive; Polypyrrole

- Background: There is a growing trend in automation technologies to mimic the muscle-driven movements observed in nature. As such, there is a demand for soft artificial muscles that cannot be constructed from traditional rigid parts and motors. Specialized materials have been employed in the early development of these soft actuators, however they are difficult to fabricate into reliable devices, which remains one of the key challenges in the creation of compliant actuators and sensors for automation. - Challenge: Conjugated polymers (CPs) possess unique properties that allow them to convert energy from one form to another, rendering them ideal candidates for soft actuators and sensors. However, CP are typically prepared as simple thin-films or powders which has hindered their wide-spread adoption. Therefore, new functional materials and manufacturing processes are essential to fully exploit the potential of these materials. - Innovation: Our solution to this challenge is a patent-pending innovation combining a novel Material and its concomitant Manufacturing Process that yields 3D CP structures via the digital light processing (DLP) additive manufacturing process. CP structures fabricated through this process incorporate fine 3D features, addressing one of the major limitations associated with conventional CP fabrication. This capability offers a novel mechanism to achieve unmatched CP performance to realize new devices with integrated multidimensional actuation and sensing capabilities. - Objective & Impact: The objective of Phase I of this I2I project is to develop and optimize our prototype CP materials and DLP fabrication technology to further advance this innovation towards commercialization. Currently, we have support of three leading organizations (Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, FESTO, and DAVWIRE) to test our prototypes. This novel technology will impact a broad range of scientific and industrial fields, and new devices developed through this innovation are particularly well-suited for healthcare as dispensers for lab-on-a-chip devices and related medical diagnostic sensors.

- 背景：自动化技术越来越倾向于模仿自然界中观察到的肌肉驱动运动。因此，需要无法用传统刚性部件和电机构建的软人造肌肉。这些软执行器的早期开发采用了专用材料，但它们很难制造成可靠的设备，这仍然是创建用于自动化的兼容执行器和传感器的关键挑战之一。 - 挑战：共轭聚合物 (CP) 具有独特的特性，可以将能量从一种形式转换为另一种形式，使其成为软执行器和传感器的理想选择。然而，CP 通常制备为简单的薄膜或粉末，这阻碍了其广泛采用。因此，新的功能材料和制造工艺对于充分发挥这些材料的潜力至关重要。 - 创新：我们针对这一挑战的解决方案是一项正在申请专利的创新，该创新结合了新型材料及其相应的制造工艺，通过数字光处理 (DLP) 增材制造工艺产生 3D CP 结构。通过此工艺制造的 CP 结构包含精细的 3D 特征，解决了与传统 CP 制造相关的主要限制之一。此功能提供了一种新颖的机制来实现无与伦比的 CP 性能，从而实现具有集成多维驱动和传感功能的新设备。 - 目标和影响：该 I2I 项目第一阶段的目标是开发和优化我们的原型 CP 材料和 DLP 制造技术，以进一步推动这项创新走向商业化。目前，我们得到了三个领先组织（Bürkert Fluid Control Systems、FESTO 和 DAVWIRE）的支持来测试我们的原型。这项新技术将影响广泛的科学和工业 通过这一创新开发的新设备特别适合医疗保健领域，作为芯片实验室设备和相关医疗诊断传感器的分配器。