Automated Fabrication of Elastomeric Prepregs for Soft Robotics Applications

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Authors

Fluidic elastomer soft robots typically consist of a top and a strain-limiting bottom part. Both parts are usually cast and then glued together. Elastomeric prepregs, which can be stored at low temperatures for several months without significant cross-linking, simplify this manufacturing process. A cured top part of an arbitrary shape is placed on the wet prepreg, which later forms the strain-limiting layer, and the actuator is finally cured in an oven. Herein, a machine is designed and developed that automatically produces prepregs. Three different concepts are realized in a modular prototype: direct roller application, reverse roller application, and application with slot dies. Experiments show that the direct and the reverse roller application concepts are both suitable for the automated production of prepregs, where the latter one may be preferred due to the smaller number of contact surfaces. Three different textiles (polyester/cotton-blended fabric, nylon fabric, and fleece) are impregnated with the reverse roller application concept using Sylgard 184 and stored at −25 °C for 12 days. Using these prepregs, soft bending actuators are manufactured and tested for their functionality. Long-term fatigue tests show that only actuators produced with fleece prepregs are durable, without any signs of delamination.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1900854
JournalAdvanced Engineering Materials
Volume22
Issue number4
Number of pages6
ISSN1438-1656
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.04.2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Doruk Utkan, Vignesh Venkatachalam, and Mert Yildiz for their assistance during prepreg production. The authors also thank Lars Schiller for his support in the fatigue experiments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

    Research areas

  • automated fabrication, elastomeric prepregs, fluid-driven robots, impregnation mechanisms, soft robotics
  • Engineering

DOI