Fully-Printable Soft Actuator with Variable Stiffness by Phase Transition and Hydraulic Regulations
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (1)
- We show a variable stiffness hydraulic actuator fully 3D printed using SMPs with no machining or assembly at low cost and actuated under the influence of varying temperature fluids (20–50 C).
- (2)
- We propose a novel method of stiffness and bending control using hydraulic (water) pressure and temperature, replacing the pneumatic control to achieve large stiffness variation and bending angles.
- (3)
- We demonstrate an average stiffness variation of ≈1150% in the actuator by varying the temperature from 50 C (33 mN/mm) to 20 C (414 mN/mm).
- (4)
- We demonstrate controllable deflection (bending) in the actuator, achieving angles between –80 and 80 by utilizing input fluid at a temperature of 20–50 C and a pressure of 0–0.2 MPa.
- (5)
- We demonstrate the gripping of objects using the actuators based on varying temperature and pressure of input hydraulics.
2. Principle
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Structure of the System
3.2. Structure of the Actuator
3.3. Fabrication of the Actuator
4. Results
4.1. Testing of Stiffness Variation
4.2. Factors Affecting the Actuation Mechanism
4.3. Precision of the Actuator
4.4. Output Force
4.5. Application
5. Discussions
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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Printing Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Layer Height (mm) | 0.05 |
First Layer Height (mm) | 0.2 |
Print Speed (mm/s) | 50 |
Extruder Temperature (C) | 220 |
Plate Temperature (C) | 0 |
Print Infill | 100% |
Support | No |
Cooling | No |
Properties | Average Ratio |
---|---|
Stiffness (T = 20 C: T = 50 C) | 13.1:1 |
Heating Time (T = 50 C: T = 65 C: T = 80 C) | 2.4:1.2:1 |
Cooling Time (T = 24 C: T = 18 C) | 1.5:1 |
The Maximum Output Force (T = 50 C: T = 20 C) | 5.9:1 |
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Liao, T.; Kalairaj, M.S.; Cai, C.J.; Tse, Z.T.H.; Ren, H. Fully-Printable Soft Actuator with Variable Stiffness by Phase Transition and Hydraulic Regulations. Actuators 2021, 10, 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/act10100269
Liao T, Kalairaj MS, Cai CJ, Tse ZTH, Ren H. Fully-Printable Soft Actuator with Variable Stiffness by Phase Transition and Hydraulic Regulations. Actuators. 2021; 10(10):269. https://doi.org/10.3390/act10100269
Chicago/Turabian StyleLiao, Tingchen, Manivannan Sivaperuman Kalairaj, Catherine Jiayi Cai, Zion Tsz Ho Tse, and Hongliang Ren. 2021. "Fully-Printable Soft Actuator with Variable Stiffness by Phase Transition and Hydraulic Regulations" Actuators 10, no. 10: 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/act10100269