Abstract
Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) is stimuli-responsive material with the ability to recover the original shape from a deformation upon triggering by an appropriate stimulus like heat, light, and electricity. The shape recovery properties can be harnessed through 4D printing of self-recoverable functional structures and made usable in fields like medicine and robotics. To investigate the recovery properties, best printing parameters and optimal sizes, 4D reconfigurable gripper designed in CAD was printed in Ultimaker 2 Printer. Different stencils were made in varying printing parameters of temperature, infill, speed and time. Analysis for the stencils proved best print quality at a temperature of 195 °C and nozzle retract speed of 40mm/s. Shape recovery characterization was done on MATLAB. A printing temperature of 203 °C, infill density of 38% and printing speed of 40 mm/s gave the gripper with the best print quality. Characterization of the varying performances of the four grippers was attributed to the different infill percentages. The lower the infill, the higher the recovery rate due to the low stiffness of the gripper. The best recovery rate of 96.93% was associated with an optimal printing temperature of 203 °C.
Highlights
Recent advances in additive manufacturing (3D printing) allows researchers to create complex shapes that were previously impossible with the traditional methods. 3D printing is an additive manufacturing process that allows the creation of complex geometries
They have been reported to recover strain of over 400% where the recovery is expected to transpire in a nonlinear manner and with the majority of the recovery occurring within minutes of reaching the glass transition temperature [26], [32]
This meant that the gripper could only be made as a two tong limiting the capacity to exercise with complex smart shapes
Summary
Recent advances in additive manufacturing (3D printing) allows researchers to create complex shapes that were previously impossible with the traditional methods. 3D printing is an additive manufacturing process that allows the creation of complex geometries. The monomer is the soft component (switching segment) It is made up of shorter chains to enable large plastic deformation into a temporary shape at temperatures above the glass transition temperature. The shapes can be stimulated by the body temperature to soften or harden selectively in order to enhance the delivery Some of these designs include a 4D printed scent [18], 4D nerve guidance conduit [19], and 4D printed scaffold [20]. After the actuator reached its desired length and heat was released, the SMP became rigid and the artificial muscle would be fixed in a stiff and actuated state This shows an existing trade-off between the printing speed and the surface roughness and relative error as in the Table 1. Most cases, the printer uses artificial intelligence to compute the simplest route for printing and does so layer by layer in what is referred to as the bottom-up method
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: European Journal of Engineering Research and Science
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
