Actuator design and automated manufacturing process for DEAP-based multilayer stack-actuators

Maas, Jürgen; Tepel, Dominik; Hoffstadt, Thorben

doi:10.1007/s11012-015-0273-2

Cited by 64 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…One of the very early works reporting on electro-active polymers has suggested a two-way working and tubular geometry [29]. A recurring idea to produce useful actuators from DEAP is to use stacking, folding [30,31], or rolling the elastomer/polymer to increase either the force or the stroke as the main output of the actuator. A rolled elastomer design reported in References [32,33] was able to bend in many directions, therefore presenting a good candidate for surgical or mobile robotics use.…”

Section: Optimal Geometry In Deapmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reduce the complexity and render the DEAP actuator scalable, an automated folding and production procedure was proposed in Reference [31].…”

Section: Scalability Of Deapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the challenges are actuation force levels, lifetime/durability, and activation voltage levels [32]. An important step to make them more durable and easily manufacturable through an automation process was performed in Reference [31]. There, a fast and automated dry-deposition manufacturing process was demonstrated by producing several multi-layer stack actuators based in roll-to-sheet process.…”

Section: Technology Readiness Level (Trl)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Overview of Novel Actuators for Soft Robotics

2018

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In this systematic survey, an overview of non-conventional actuators particularly used in soft-robotics is presented. The review is performed by using well-defined performance criteria with a direction to identify the exemplary and potential applications. In addition to this, initial guidelines to compare the performance and applicability of these novel actuators are provided. The meta-analysis is restricted to five main types of actuators: shape memory alloys (SMAs), fluidic elastomer actuators (FEAs), shape morphing polymers (SMPs), dielectric electro-activated polymers (DEAPs), and magnetic/electro-magnetic actuators (E/MAs). In exploring and comparing the capabilities of these actuators, the focus was on eight different aspects: compliance, topology-geometry, scalability-complexity, energy efficiency, operation range, modality, controllability, and technological readiness level (TRL). The overview presented here provides a state-of-the-art summary of the advancements and can help researchers to select the most convenient soft actuators using the comprehensive comparison of the suggested quantitative and qualitative criteria.

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Section: Optimal Geometry In Deapmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reduce the complexity and render the DEAP actuator scalable, an automated folding and production procedure was proposed in Reference [31].…”

Section: Scalability Of Deapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Technology Readiness Level (Trl)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Overview of Novel Actuators for Soft Robotics

2018

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“…An alternative is the dry deposition process as it is described for example in. 7 As raw material a prefabricated silicone film with a homogeneous thickness of 20 to 50 µm and high qualities concerning its electrical and mechanical properties is used. The whole process is divided into six sub-processes depicted in Fig.…”

Section: Manufacturing Process For De Stack-actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…by stacking multiple layers on top of each other leading to DE stack-actuators. 7 In order to transmit forces the actuator can be equipped with different mechanical interfaces. In this publication these interfaces and especially there impact on the actuation performance are studied in more detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interface design for DE based stack-actuators considering various application cases

et al. 2016

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Transducers based on dielectric elastomers (DE) are able to fulfill various requirements as generator, sensor and actuator applications. Depending on the application their design implementation differs. An advantageous transducer topology to improve the strain and force are DE stack-transducers which consist of multiple layers of DE films coated with a compliant electrode. Their actuation behavior is strongly depended on the total number of layers and the mechanical interface to its environment. Considering different application cases customized actuator designs are proposed and the utilized manufacturing process is briefly presented. Within this publication a FE model is used to simulate the deformation under consideration of various mechanical boundaries. Afterwards, experimental investigations are conducted to verify the simulation results. Actuator configurations with different mechanical interfaces are analyzed regarding their static actuation behavior. Furthermore, dynamic tests were conducted to show differences between actuators made from silicone and polyurethane (PUR). In summary, the tests confirm the results of the FE analysis and provide promising results appropriate for various future applications.

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3D Printing of Interdigitated Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

Chortos

Hajiesmaili

Morales

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

147

128

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Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are soft electromechanical devices that exhibit large energy densities and fast actuation rates. They are typically produced by planar methods and, thus, expand in-plane when actuated. Here, reported is a method for fabricating 3D interdigitated DEAs that exhibit in-plane contractile actuation modes. First, a conductive elastomer ink is created with the desired rheology needed for printing high-fidelity, interdigitated electrodes. Upon curing, the electrodes are then encapsulated in a self-healing dielectric matrix composed of a plasticized, chemically crosslinked polyurethane acrylate. 3D DEA devices are fabricated with tunable mechanical properties that exhibit breakdown fields of 25 V µm −1 and actuation strains of up to 9%. As exemplars, printed are prestrainfree rotational actuators and multi-voxel DEAs with orthogonal actuation directions in large-area, out-of-plane motifs.The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201907375.cycling and breakdown behavior [33][34][35] and the presence of a rigid frame limits the geometries that can be achieved. [24,36] Recent attention has been directed toward developing approaches that enable contractile displacements in prestrain-free DEAs, including manual and automated stacking of individual planar layers [37] or sequential deposition of active materials via inkjet printing [38] and spray coating. [39] The fabrication of contractile actuators with vertically oriented electrodes offers a more promising approach (Figure 1b). While arrays of vertical electrodes can be patterned lithographically, new masks must be generated for each device design. [40][41][42] By contrast, 3D printing enables the rapid design and fabrication of soft materials in nearly arbitrary geometries. [43][44][45][46][47] For example, direct ink writing (DIW), an extrusion-based 3D printing method, has been used to pattern soft functional materials, including sensors, [48] stretchable electronics, [49] liquid crystalline elastomers, [50] and soft robots. [51,52] While this method has recently been used to print DEAs, they do not exhibit an in-plane contractile response. [52][53][54] Here, we create 3D DEAs composed of interdigitated vertical electrodes that are printed, cured, and encapsulated in an insulating dielectric matrix (Figure 1c). These prestrain-free contractile DEAs can be produced in nearly arbitrary geometries. During their actuation, the stress generated is given by σ = ε 0 ε r (E) 2 , where ε 0 is the vacuum permittivity, ε r is the dielectric constant, and E is the electric field. For small strains, the actuation strain (s z ) is s z = σ/E Y = ε 0 ε r (E) 2 /E Y , where E Y is the Young's modulus. Their actuation performance is therefore maximized by increasing the breakdown field and dielectric constant, while simultaneously reducing the elastic modulus of the matrix. Since variations in the dielectric thickness can cause localization of the electric field that results in p...

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Actuator design and automated manufacturing process for DEAP-based multilayer stack-actuators

Cited by 64 publications

References 24 publications

An Overview of Novel Actuators for Soft Robotics

An Overview of Novel Actuators for Soft Robotics

Interface design for DE based stack-actuators considering various application cases

3D Printing of Interdigitated Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

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