Ethanol phase transition driven silicone actuator for soft robotic prosthetic arm.
Mwasi, Edwin (2020)
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Lataukset:
Mwasi, Edwin
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020052513581
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020052513581
Tiivistelmä
In this thesis a soft actuator was built for usage in a prosthetic arm. The actuator was made from a combination of silicone and ethanol because the phase change of ethanol inside the silicone can achieve motion in the material.
The aim of this thesis was to create a soft actuator targeted for usage in the medical field. The main goal was to make the actuator and the arm lightweight, strong, portable and cheap.
The actuator mould was 3D printed from PLA plastic, the actuator was made, and different experiments were carried out on the actuator motion, and the prosthetic arm was designed using Solidworks software.
The hypothesis was that with proper design of the arm, mixture ratio of silicone (mould silicone 1520) and ethanol (actuator) the actuator will be strong enough to mimic human hand muscle movements.
The actuator achieved clearly visible movement in one of the experiments and results were recorded. Stress analysis was not done due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused the school and laboratories to be closed for safety.
The aim of this thesis was to create a soft actuator targeted for usage in the medical field. The main goal was to make the actuator and the arm lightweight, strong, portable and cheap.
The actuator mould was 3D printed from PLA plastic, the actuator was made, and different experiments were carried out on the actuator motion, and the prosthetic arm was designed using Solidworks software.
The hypothesis was that with proper design of the arm, mixture ratio of silicone (mould silicone 1520) and ethanol (actuator) the actuator will be strong enough to mimic human hand muscle movements.
The actuator achieved clearly visible movement in one of the experiments and results were recorded. Stress analysis was not done due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused the school and laboratories to be closed for safety.