Soft Robotics 🤖

Session Nutshell 🌰🐚

We are at Week 8 already! After my inspiring journey to the beautiful Norway, I finally had some time to catch up on my assignments. Since I missed the global lecture, I dove into the recorded sessions, including those by my mentors, and they provided a fantastic foundation.

I was super excited to explore soft robotics after discovering the fascinating work of Saskia Helinska. Her projects really fueled my curiosity, and I couldn’t wait to dive into a domain I had only read about before!

Assignment Deep Dive 📝

Learning Outcomes

Research skills: the participant has acquired knowledge through references and Concept development

Design skills: the participant has learnt through sketches, 2D and 3D modeling, simulations and (paper) prototypes

Fabrication skills: the participant is able of executing from file to production workflow, molding and casting, vinylcutting, laser cutting

Documentation: Anyone can go through the process, understand it and reproduce it

Final outcome: Is the project assembled, functioning and complete

Originality: Has the design been thought through and elaborated?

Students Checklist ✅

✅ Document the concept, sketches, references (also to artistic and scientific articles)

✅ Make a soft robotic sample, develop the pattern for the Inflatable and draw a sketch of the air flow:

1. build a pneumatic wrist brace (basic level) or

2. build a Soft Gripper (intermediate level) or

3. build and document a Pneumatic, digitally controlled system, electronics schematic, electronic control and code (advanced level)

✅ design your own version of an inflatable / soft robot

✅ Experiment with different materials, such as silicone, 3d printing, parchment paper, thermoadesive vynil, TPU fabrics, bioplastic, document your achievements and unexpected outcomes

✅ Make a small video of your inflatable/soft robot working

✅ Upload your digital design files (if any)

✅ Build the electronic circuit to control your inflatable/soft robot (extra credit)

---

Project Inspiration 💡

Once I clarified what I needed to create, I looked to nature for inspiration. I’m always drawn to the beauty of the natural world, and this time, the vibrant forms of marine life took center stage.

The graceful and adaptive movements of marine creatures like octopuses, jellyfish, and pufferfish provide rich inspiration for a DIY soft robotics project. Each creature embodies unique biomechanics that can be beautifully recreated through soft robotics.

1. Octopus 🐙: Octopuses have incredible flexibility and dexterity, capable of squeezing through tight spaces, grasping various objects, and moving each arm independently. Mimicking this with soft robotics could involve silicone-based actuators that replicate the muscles in each arm, enabling a robot to wrap, grip, and navigate intricate areas. Perfect for robots requiring delicate maneuverability and precision!

1. Jellyfish 🌊: Jellyfish move through water with gentle, rhythmic pulses that are incredibly energy-efficient. Their umbrella-like form could inspire a soft robot with pneumatic or hydraulic actuators, allowing for similar radial movements. This would be ideal for underwater exploration or tasks needing gentle handling.

1. Pufferfish 🐡: The pufferfish’s ability to "inflate" by expanding its skin and muscles showcases adjustable volume and firmness, which is inspiring for soft robotics. A robot inspired by this could adapt its size and pressure, ideal for tasks like wedging into spaces, lifting, or adjusting buoyancy.

These amazing creatures show how soft robotics can extend beyond rigid designs to achieve fluid, adaptable, and responsive movements, perfect for various real-world applications.

---

Process Understanding 🧠

Since soft robotics is a new field for me, I took extra care to study tutorials online to better meet the project requirements.

Armed with newfound knowledge, I jumped right into the tasks below:

1. Downloaded STL files for two 3D molds.
2. Gathered materials (see the list at the end).
3. Designed the mold – I laser-cut an acrylic sheet for the main mold.
4. Prepped designs for vinyl experiments.

---

The Process 🎨✨

3D Molds

I started by 3D printing Gripper Mold and Wendy Mold, which our mentors had provided.

Material List

• 3D Molds
• 2mm Acrylic Sheet
• Ecoflex
• Heat Transfer Vinyl
• Gloves
• Iron
• Transparent cups
• Stirrers
• Blowing tools (PVC medical pipes, syringe, balloon pump, keyboard dust blower, blood pressure inflator, metal straws)
• Baking Paper
• Ironing cloth
• Printed designs
• Feviquick (quick-drying transparent glue)
• Basic stationery: cutting mat, blade, paper tape

With materials ready, I moved on to the design phase

Design Exploration 🐙🌊

Inspired by the magical world of marine life, I dove into the design process with a focus on the forms and textures found under the sea. Here’s how my design journey unfolded:

Inspired by marine textures and forms.

Octopus Tentacles 🐙 I started experimenting with the fluid and flexible shapes of octopus tentacles. Octopuses are masters of movement, with each tentacle capable of extraordinary stretches, grips, and twists! I wanted to bring that same dynamic feel to my design, capturing the organic curves and sense of flow.

Pufferfish Texture 🐡 The pufferfish’s unique, spiny texture caught my eye next. Its surface changes dramatically as it inflates, with small, rounded protrusions popping out. I played with ways to recreate this texture for adaptability and flair in my design, imagining how these “spikes” could be softened into functional elements that could inflate or move when activated.

Starfish-Inspired Gripper 🌟 I found inspiration in the unique form and movement of the starfish. Starfish have incredible flexibility in their arms, allowing them to grip surfaces with impressive strength and precision. This quality made them an ideal model for a soft gripper design, as their radial structure and gentle yet effective grasp could be replicated to create a gripper that is both functional and visually intriguing. By capturing the starfish’s natural adaptability, this gripper could gently conform to different shapes and surfaces, making it a

Bringing It All Together 🌊✨ After a series of these mini explorations

I finally crafted a design that felt just right. This final concept brings together hints of fish shapes, DNA-like fluidity, and pufferfish-like textures. Each element adds something unique: the shape suggests the natural world, while the texture hints at adaptive functionality—exactly what I was hoping for in this soft robotics project.

Technical Details 🛠️ I used Adobe Illustrator to create this design, refining each layer to fit perfectly into an acrylic mold for Ecoflex casting. Here’s how the design dimensions worked out:

• Outer Shape Size:
• Height: 20 cm
• Width: 10 cm
• Inner Shape Size:
• Height: 18 cm
• Width: 8 cm
• Design Size:
• Height: 17 cm
• Width: 5.5 cm

Design Breakdown – Layers 🧩 To create the mold, I split the design into three parts: Top, Mid, and Bottom layers. This layering was essential for laser-cutting each piece accurately and creating a perfect mold for the Ecoflex pour. Each layer brings its own purpose and structure, ensuring the final cast would have the depth and detail needed for soft robotic functionality.

This design phase was truly enjoyable, as each discovery brought me closer to capturing the incredible adaptability and beauty of marine life within my soft robotics project. 🌊🐡🐙✨

---

Project Assembly 🛠️

Creating the Acrylic Mold

1. Laser cut the design on an acrylic sheet.
2. Pop out the designs.
3. Build the mold by layering the cut acrylic sheets to achieve depth and structure.

In order to create the mold :

1. Stuck the mid hollow layer to the bottom layer
2. Since I had 2 mid hollow layers I stuck both of them one by one
3. Once I had a thickness I liked I stuck the cut out of the design in the middle in the hollow space

We used fevi quick to stick the layers together

And just like that the mold was created!

Once the molds were ready, I set up my workspace for pouring the Ecoflex without a mess.

Ecoflex Process

✨ 3D Printed Wendy Mold Adventures ✨

1. Ecoflex Mixology Time 🧪 Part A: 39g + Part B: 39g = Total: 78g (Let’s just say it was a bit of a guessing game... but the stars aligned, and it worked like a charm! ✨🌟)

2. Stirring Magic 🌀Gave the mix a good 1-minute stir to get everything smooth and ready!

3. Pouring into Wendy Mold 🫙 Carefully poured the Ecoflex into the Wendy mold, watching it settle beautifully!

4. Creating a Top Layer 🎨 Poured a thin coat onto an acrylic sheet for the perfect top layer finish.

Feeling more like pros with each pour! 💪 Now, onto the acrylic molds for the next phase!

---

🐟 Acrylic Mold: Fish Design 🐟

1. Ecoflex Mix - Almost Perfect! 🎯 Part A: 53g + Part B: 54g = Total: 107g (Aiming for 105, but hey, 2 grams extra never hurt! 😉)

2. Stirring Time 🌀 Gave the mix a good 1-minute stir to get that perfect consistency!

3. Pouring into Fish Mold 🐠 Poured the Ecoflex into the acrylic mold, filling it up to the top for an even coat.

4. Bubble Be-Gone 🍃 Gave it a few taps to banish any bubbles for that flawless finish!

5. Creating the Top Layer 🎨 Used the remaining Ecoflex to create a thin top layer on another frame.

6. Setting Time ⏳ Letting it cure for approximately 24 hours before the big reveal!

Excited to see how our fish design comes out! 🐟✨

🛠️ 3D Printed Gripper Mold 🛠️

1. Ecoflex Mix - Precision Pour 🎯 Part A: 24g + Part B: 24g = Total: 49g (A tiny bit over—1 gram extra for luck! 🍀)

2. Stirring the Magic 🌀 Stirred the liquid for a solid 1 minute to get that smooth, even mix.

3. Pouring into the Gripper Mold 🫳 Carefully filled up the gripper mold with the Ecoflex—nice and steady for an even layer!

4. Creating a Thin Top Layer 🎨 Poured a thin coat on an acrylic sheet to complete the top layer.

---

We let all the molds set for about 24 hours, and then moved on to our next adventure: Vinyl Heat Transfer Experiments! 🔥🎨

---

🎨 Vinyl Heat Transfer Experiments 🎨

Inspired by Saskia Helinska’s patterns, we tried various designs and cut them on baking paper for testing.

Printing the Designs 🖨️ Started by printing out all the designs we needed to bring this project to life!

Cutting on Baking Paper ✂️ Carefully cut out the shapes on baking paper—getting all those details just right!

Cutting on Vinyl 🧩cCut the same shapes on vinyl, then layered the baking paper between two vinyl sheets for that perfect transfer! We made sure to keep the printed design on top to identify the designs

Ironing Time 🔥 Gave the sheets a good press with the iron (and don't forget—place baking paper on top to protect the iron from the heat transfer vinyl)!

Double-Sided Ironing & Cooling 🌬️Ironed both sides thoroughly, then let it cool down for a clean, smooth finish.

Once the vinyl sheets had cooled down, we were all set to blow them up! 💥✨

To add air to the vinyl sheets we used the keyboard dust blower which worked wonderfully well

We shared the videos of our vinyl experiments and Rico asked us to trim some of the edges to get a better movement which did work well when we tried it for one of the designs

---

Demolding Time

It had been over 24 hours since we set our molds to cure, and it was finally judgment day! ⚖️👀

We started by struggling (and I mean really struggling 😅) to remove the silicone from the mold. The Ecoflex felt pretty strange on the hands—thin, gooey (even though it was dry!), slithery, and slippery! 🫣💧

Gunjan and I were super nervous about removing the silicone because we definitely didn’t want to break it! 😬 After some initial wrangling, we finally managed to remove and set aside all our molds. Victory! 🏆🎉

Next up, we had to seal the thinner layer on top of the main silicone mold. We used Ecoflex for the sealing process to make sure everything stayed together. 🖌️🧪

We let it dry for about 4-5 hours, then trimmed out the molds. ✂️🌬️ After that, we created a little puncture for airflow and began pumping air into the molds. At first, we tried using a syringe, but it turned out to be quite a workout! 💪 So, we returned to the trusty keyboard dust blower—which once again saved the day! 💨🦸‍♀️

As we pumped in the air, we saw it puff up, but sadly, it didn’t define the design as we hoped. 😕 Little did we realize while gluing that we should have attached the top layer in a way that covered every aspect of the mold except for the depth of the main design, rather than just the sides. Oops, we made a bit of a boo-boo! 🤦‍♀️

BUT hey, this was a huge learning moment! 🧠💡

---

Video of my final design

I decided to try recreating my design using the heat transfer vinyl technique. As I worked, I realized that while my design looked beautiful, the narrowness of the airflow space might have been the issue. So, I went back to my design, created a slightly thicker version, and tried the vinyl technique again—it worked a little better, giving me more confidence in my approach. 🌈✨

Now, I plan to take this learning forward by recasting the mold with the revised design and see if I can finally achieve what I envision! 🤞🔁

Overall, I was really happy with this week. Although I wished I had more time to experiment, I’m glad I fulfilled the assessment requirements and learned so much in the process! 🎉📈😊

Reflections 🪞

1. Collaboration with Gunjan was fantastic – we could do more vinyl tests together and working together just helps us motivate each other to do our best and learn collaboratively
2. Airflow Insights: Simpler patterns enhance beauty and functionality.
3. Laser Cutter Love: This was my first time molding with a laser cutter, and I loved it!
4. Catching Up: Despite missing two days, with Gunjan’s support and session recordings, I felt I was back on track in no time.

Fabrication Files 📁

⬇️ Download All Files here