3D-Printed Inflatable Actuators
Design and Development of Soft Actuators for a Pneumatically-Actuated Soft Robotic Arm
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Date
2019-08
Publication Type
Student Paper
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yes
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Abstract
Designing soft inflatable actuators is not a trivial task due to the coupling between their function and their mechanical design. Hence, in order to realize a functional design, numerous design parameters and their interdependencies have to be studied. As a result, the design process is often both tedious and ambiguous as there is no well-defined approach to guide it. In this semester project, 3D-printed inflatable actuators were designed, analyzed, and realized. The goal of this project is to eventually incorporate them into a pneumatically-actuated soft robotic arm with two Degrees of Freedom. The bellow-type actuators were systematically developed using a two-phased design process. The linear effects of geometry and material were first studied. The insights from this phase were then translated into the more complex rotational domain using a design framework. It is in the rotational domain where the insights were applied to generate a soft inflatable rotary actuator. At each phase of this design process, Finite Element Analysis simulation and physical experimentation were used to verify the mechanical designs. This structured approach led to the first realization of a soft inflatable rotary actuator that possesses a deflection behavior that is suitable for the envisioned soft robotic arm.
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published
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Contributors
Examiner : Hofer, Matthias
Examiner : D'Andrea, Raffaello
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Publisher
ETH Zurich
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Subject
Soft robotics; Inflatable actuators; Mechanical design; 3D-printing
Organisational unit
03758 - D'Andrea, Raffaello / D'Andrea, Raffaello