Design of an Additively Manufacturable Multi-Material Light-Weight Gripper with integrated Bellows Actuators

Abstract

Combining state-of-the-art additive manufacturing technologies with structural optimization has the potential to produce geometrically complex multi-material components with integrated functionalities and desired structural behavior. In this article, the simulation-driven design process of a multi-material light-weight gripper with an integrated pneumatic bellows actuator is described. The design of the bellows structure is based on a previously published contribution to the RoboSoft2018 conference in Livorno, Italy. The conference paper contains the shape optimization and experimental investigations of the structural and fatigue behavior of linear type multi-material PolyJet bellows actuators. In this extended version, the main findings of the conference paper are translated into the design of a rotary type bellows actuator that is finally integrated into a multi-material light-weight gripper. In order to define the lay-out of the gripper's support structure, a density-based topology optimization is performed and the application on a PolyJet printed light-weight robot is demonstrated. The presented design approach and results are useful for researchers and engineers involved in the development of multimaterial additive manufacturing, simulation-driven design and functionally integrated structures for pneumatic robotic systems.