Lecture
WEB Synthesis of a shape memory polymer for soft robotics
Tuesday (22.09.2020) 14:45 - 15:00 F: Functional Materials, Surfaces, and Devices 2 Part of:Here we introduce a shape memory polymer with promising material properties. The polyester urethane was synthesized in a two-step process consisting of a polycondensation reaction to prepare a polyester diol followed by a polyaddition reaction. Once melt-extruded to filaments, fused filament fabrication was used as additive manufacturing technique to obtain the polymer in its permanent shape. After programming, a thermoresponsive actuator could be obtained with a high degree of reliability as proven in durability measurements. When implemented into a specially designed gripper system, the gripper was able to grab and release a fragile object. This makes both the material and the gripper system attractive for applications in the field of soft robotics.