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8. SOFT ROBOTICS

REFERENCES & INSPIRATION

Diesel X Dennis Vanderbroeck

Going into this week I had a vague understanding of what soft robotics were or could be, but i was blown away by the advancements of this field.

I knew of inflatables and that idea of soft robots aka the robot from big hero 6 - Baymax but never thought of all of the possibilities, like using heat or temperature to actuate these robots.


Credits: AISHWARYA PANTULA / JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

TOOLS

  • Vinyl Sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • 3d Printer
  • Silicone: Ecoflex / Dragon Skin
  • Adafruit Flora
  • Soft circut / mosfet
  • Laser Cutter
  • Mini vacuum air pump

PROCESS AND WORKFLOW

For this week, I made 3 prototypes:

  • A vinyl graffiti inflatable
  • A silicone logo inflatable
  • A siliconne graffiti inflatable

We also were able to build a circut and use our adafruit flora with a mosfet to control the inflatables with an electronic air pump. i dont know exactly what pump we were using but any generic low voltage air vacuum pump like this:

DFRobot 370 Mini Vacuum Pump


VINYL

Arguably the easiest method to make a soft robot.

  • Cut your shape that you want to inflate out of parchment paper
  • Sandwhich between two pieces of heat transfer vinyl
  • Use a heat press or iron to join/melt the pieces together

SILICONE MOULD #1

For the silicone moulds, we used

Smooth-On Ecoflex 00-20

BUT before we can make a silicone version we need to 3d print a mould. Since I already had my logo, I added an air-spout and creatred walls so I could pour in the silicone.

I unfortunately dont have a photo of this process but it is also possible to do similarily as I did in Week 10-BOOLEAN DIFFERENCE

I created this mould in Rhino and then 3d printed it using the Bambu A1.

  1. Model the Mold

    Design your final silicone shape.

    Subtract it from a solid block to create a negative cavity.

    Split the mold into two (or more) parts for easy demolding.

    Add registration keys and a pouring spout.

  2. Prepare for Printing

    Use watertight, manifold geometry.

    Ensure wall thickness is at least 2–3mm.

    Avoid overhangs or plan to use supports.

    Export as STL.

  3. Slice the Model

    Print with PLA or PETG.

    Settings:

    Layer height: 0.2mm

Infill: 30–40%

Shells: 3–4 perimeters

Supports: Only where necessary

To make a silicone mould:

  • mix equal parts A & B
  • added charcoal for color
  • pour into mould
  • pour onto flat surface to create the top
  • let cure, and then with more silicone, glue both pieces together

SILICONE MOULD #2

For my second silicone mould I used the Rayjet 400 laser cutter to cut a mould out of an acrylic sheet. I unfortunately dont have any photos of the process for this mould but below is a video of the final result.

  • I first drew the font in rhino
  • laser cut the letters and the frames out of acrylic.
  • glued the letters and frames to a larger piece of acrylic to make full mould.

3D MODELS & VIDEOS

logo_mould_3dprint by Zander on Sketchfab

RESULTS



FILES --- lost-cut_Copy.zip