High-output bending motion of a soft inflatable microactuator with an actuation conversion mechanism.

ABSTRACT: The improvement of soft inflatable microactuators using an actuation conversion mechanism is presented in terms of high-output generation; a bending inflatable microactuator with the conversion mechanism is designed to generate high-output bending motion. The designed microactuator consists of a pneumatic balloon on a base film and a conversion film over the balloon and ribs on the backside of the base film. A conversion film converts the inflating motion of a pneumatic balloon into a bending motion. The fabricated microactuator with a pneumatic balloon of 13 mm in diameter is 16 mm × 40 mm × 850 μm. A 25 μm thick polyimide film is used as a conversion film over the pneumatic balloon because polyimide film is both non-stretchable and flexible. An array of Si ribs (15 mm × 40 mm × 400 μm) i

SUBMITTER: Konishi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7374717 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature