8. Soft robotics¶

Research¶

Jann Choy has created an inflatable mask inspired by Biàn liǎn (face-changing), which is a subgenre of Chinese opera where performers wear a series of bold masks each representing a different emotion.

Sheryl Teng uses pneumatic structures to create innovative textures for upholstery applications.
aeroMorph: Research around heat-sealing inflatable shapes for interaction design

References & Inspiration¶

When working on this weeks assignment I referenced the projects from the following Fabricademy alums and instructors:

Tools¶

Inkscape
Tinkercad
Heat Transfer Vinyl
Xtool M1 Ultra Lasercutter / Vinyl Cutter
Iron
Bambu Lab A1 3D Printer
Smooth-On Ecoflex™ 00-30 Super-Soft, Platinum Cure Silicone Rubber
Syringe/Tube

Process and workflow¶

I spent the first part of the week developing my 2D/3D files in Inkscape and Tinkercad and the second part of the week realizing them with lasercutting and the 3D printer. I feel like I got the basic processes and workflows down. I am excited about developing more complicated products in the coming weeks.

Inflation¶

These are the files I created for the inflatable tests in Inkscape. The turquoise shapes ¹ were the vinyl and the grey shapes ² were the parchment. The vinyl cutter kept ripping the parchment paper and these ended up needing to be cut by hand.

It took several unsuccessful tests to get the learn how to successfully work with the heat transfer vinyl. Low heat when using a conventional iron is essential.

I also needed to create wider channels for the air. The optimal width for this seemed to be 10mm. Below is a video of the final version with inflated with the air pump.

Silcone Mold¶

I used Tinkercad to create a small Artifical Muscle model ³ shown above and 3D printed it using PLA.

I also used Tinkercad to create a larger petal shaped model⁴ and printed it with PLA.

I realized after the mold had printed that there was a gap at the bottom and need to find better ways of identifying this for future projects. I was able to successfully seal it with packing tape for this project.

I used the Smooth-On Ecoflex™ 00-30 Super-Soft, Platinum Cure Silicone Rubber for the casting with a mold release.

The petal mold was somewhat successful. I realized after the casting that I should not have added a hole in the 3D model for the airtube. In the future, I would remove the hole from the design and use a needle to insert the tube. I also might neeed to widen the air channels at the sides because the petal was only inflating on the bottom.

I ended up ripping the tip of the rectangle muscle when removing - I think this was due to the ridgidty of the mold and will try at again with a more flexible TPU. This impacted the inflation because too much air was being released.