Formation of PVDF Piezoelectric Film on 3D Bellows Surface of Robotic Suction Cup for Providing Force Sensing Ability -Feasibility Study on Two Methods of Dip-coating and Lamination-

摘要

This paper proposes a new object handling device for a robot, in which a conventional vacuum suction cup is provided with force sensing ability by coating a piezoelectric thin film polymer, i.e., PolyVinylidene DiFluoride (PVDF), on its surface. It can detect the applied force by piezoelectric effect of coated thin film. The feature of our study is that the suction cup can work not only as a grasping tool but also as a force sensor. PVDF thin film was prepared by dip-coating method which can coat thin film directly on a three dimensional (3D) surface. Although the film with sufficient piezoelectric d 33 constant, e.g., 34 pC/N, was achieved after polarization process in case of flat surface, it was not achieved, however, on 3D bellows surface. To address this problem, as an alternative method, the feasibility of lamination of already polarized film was investigated.