TY - JOUR
T1 - Additive Manufacturing of Silicone Composites for Soft Actuation
AU - Miriyev, Aslan
AU - Xia, Boxi
AU - Joseph, Jacob Carroll
AU - Lipson, Hod
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) Grant Number 4440729085 for Soft Robotics. A.M. and B.X. acknowledge the support from Columbia University funds.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2019.
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - Elastomer composites have proven to be promising functional materials for soft actuators. Direct manufacturing of these materials is a practical prerequisite for Soft Robotics applications, where form and function are intricately entangled. In this article we show a multimaterial printer and associated processes for in situ fabrication of silicones and silicone-based elastomer composites for soft actuators. We discuss the fabrication process for both the silicone/ethanol composite material and encapsulating silicone skin using an inline passive mixing system, followed by characterization of the rheological and mechanical properties of the printed materials for various print modalities. Rheological study revealed the conditions, allowing continuous 3D printing of both small and big items out of silicone rubber and silicone/ethanol composite. Anisotropic mechanical properties allow for the design of functional characteristics of soft actuators by choosing print design modalities. We demonstrate a single-print-job additive manufacturing of functional multimaterial systems for soft actuation, and suggest that the developed processes will allow us to design soft robots with a broad range of actuation characteristics.
AB - Elastomer composites have proven to be promising functional materials for soft actuators. Direct manufacturing of these materials is a practical prerequisite for Soft Robotics applications, where form and function are intricately entangled. In this article we show a multimaterial printer and associated processes for in situ fabrication of silicones and silicone-based elastomer composites for soft actuators. We discuss the fabrication process for both the silicone/ethanol composite material and encapsulating silicone skin using an inline passive mixing system, followed by characterization of the rheological and mechanical properties of the printed materials for various print modalities. Rheological study revealed the conditions, allowing continuous 3D printing of both small and big items out of silicone rubber and silicone/ethanol composite. Anisotropic mechanical properties allow for the design of functional characteristics of soft actuators by choosing print design modalities. We demonstrate a single-print-job additive manufacturing of functional multimaterial systems for soft actuation, and suggest that the developed processes will allow us to design soft robots with a broad range of actuation characteristics.
KW - 3D printing
KW - elastomer composite
KW - inline passive mixer
KW - mechanical properties
KW - rheological properties
KW - soft actuator
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077060965&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/3dp.2019.0116
DO - 10.1089/3dp.2019.0116
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077060965
SN - 2329-7662
VL - 6
SP - 309
EP - 318
JO - 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
JF - 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
IS - 6
ER -