Laser Cutting as a Rapid Method for Fabricating Thin Soft Pneumatic Actuators and Robots.

ABSTRACT: Pneumatically actuated soft robots address many challenges with interfacing with delicate objects, but these actuators/robots are still bulky and require many hours to fabricate, limiting their widespread use. This article reports a novel design and manufacturing method for ultrathin soft robots and actuators (∼70 μm) using a laser-cutting machine that cuts/welds sheets of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) from a 2D CAD drawing. Using this method, five different soft actuators (e.g., bending, rotating, contracting) are designed, fabricated, and characterized with both planar and nonplanar motions. Furthermore, we show how stacking multiple sheets of TPU enables rapid fabrication of multifunctional actuators. Finally, a portable four-arm swimming robot is designed and fabricated without any

SUBMITTER: Amiri Moghadam AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6094352 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature