Building Pneumatic Actuators With 3D Printed Molds
Pneumatic actuators offer interesting perspectives in applications like soft robotics and interaction design. [Aidan Leitch] makes his own pneumatic actuators from silicone rubber. His actuators contain embedded air channels that can be filled with pressurized air and completely collapse to a flat sheet when no pressure is applied.
The process is based on the research work of Kevin C. Galloway et al. on “Zero Volume Air Chambers”. The team found that they could pour a thin layer of silicone rubber into a flat mold, then selectively apply a pattern of mold release to the surface of the cured layer using …read more
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