A Fabrication Device Producing Twisted and Coiled Polymer Actuators for Use in Soft Robots

Abstract

The twisted and coiled polymer actuator is a kind of newly discovered high-performance artificial muscle, among which the elongating type has great potential to be applied into soft robots. However, to fabricate elongating nylon muscles, a mandrel is necessary during the coiling process, resulting in more difficulty. To this end, we introduce a fabrication device which is capable of producing contracting or elongating actuators with different minor diameters and controlling the actuators' pitch. Therefore, the homogeneity and uniformity of the actuators are guaranteed. The fabricated actuator can provide a stroke up to 50% or a force up to 1N, and shows a good self-sensing characteristic. A simple 1-DOF soft manipulator was made to demonstrate the actuation capability of the produced actuator. The proposed device provides convenience for the fabrication of future soft robots powered by this kind of actuator.