Elastomeric Prepregs for Soft Robotics Applications

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Typically, soft robots that are driven with compressed air consist of two parts which are bonded together, a top and a strain-limiting bottom part. This communication describes the possibility to simplify the manufacturing process by using textile semi-finished products preimpregnated with liquid elastomer (prepregs) as the strain-limiting part, which can be stored at low temperatures with significant slower cross-linking reaction. For this, in long-term tests, three typical elastomers (Elastosil M 4601, Ecoflex 00–30, and Sylgard 184) are stored at −25 °C, and in a weekly cycle over 12 weeks, the viscosity is measured to determine the curing characteristics. It turns out that Elastosil M 4601 and Sylgard 184 are suitable for this application. For comparison, short-term viscosity measurements are conducted at room temperature in a 10 min cycle. The impregnability of several textiles (polyester/cotton blended fabric, nylon fabric, fleece, and flax fabric) is tested with the suitable elastomers. The applicability of prepregs for soft robotic applications is demonstrated by manufacturing soft bending actuators with various textile-elastomer combinations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1801200
JournalAdvanced Engineering Materials
Volume21
Issue number5
Number of pages6
ISSN1438-1656
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05.2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Doruk Utkan, Mert Yildiz, and Berkan Zorlubaş for their assistance in preparing the samples and fabricating the soft bending actuators. Furthermore, the authors thank Reinhold Grube for organizing the viscometer.

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

    Research areas

  • elastomeric prepregs, fluid-driven robots, soft robotics, viscosity measurements
  • Engineering

DOI

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