Rapid Manufacturing of High-Permittivity Dielectric Elastomer Actuator Fibers
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Date
2025-05-22
Publication Type
Journal Article
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yes
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Abstract
The fast and scalable production of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) remains the major bottleneck preventing the widespread use of DEAs. In this work, an ultra-fast production method is presented for dielectric elastomer fibers which can reach industrial-like extrusion speeds of up to 60 mm s$^{-1}$ of fiber, leading to a production speed of up to 16.7 m of fiber per second or 216 m per hour. Electrode and high permittivity (ε' = 11.2) dielectric inks are used with a long pot life, but ultra-fast cross-linking at elevated temperatures. The process eliminates the need for tedious and time-consuming post-processing, as simple co-extrusion and laser ablation enable the production of fully functional, high-permittivity DEA fibers within seconds. This work represents a significant advancement in DEA manufacturing, transitioning from conventional layer-by-layer batch production to continuous co-extrusion-based manufacturing. To the best of the knowledge, this is currently the fastest method for fabricating fully functional DEAs in a single processing step.
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published
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Journal / series
Volume
10 (10)
Pages / Article No.
2500190
Publisher
Wiley-VCH
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Subject
3D printing; co-extrusion; dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs); direct ink writing (DIW); fiber actuator; multimaterial additive manufacturing; soft robotics