Abstract
In this work, a helical ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) was fabricated by thermal treatment in a mold with helix grooves. The axial actuation behaviors of the helical IPMC actuator were observed, and the electromechanical and electrochemical characteristics were evaluated. The experimental results showed that as the voltage increased and the frequency decreased, the axial displacement, axial force, and electric current of the actuator all increased. Compared with square wave and sinusoidal signals, the actuator exhibited the most satisfactory motion under the direct current (DC) signal. For the electrochemical test, as the scanning rate decreased, the gravimetric specific capacitance increased. Within a suitable voltage range, the actuator was chemically stable. In addition, we coupled the Electrostatics module, Transport of Diluted Species module, and Solid Mechanics module in COMSOL Multiphysics software to model and analyze the helical IPMC actuator. The simulation data obtained were in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, by using three helical IPMC actuators as driving components, an innovative three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) micro-parallel platform was designed, and it could realize a complex coupling movement of pitch, roll, and yaw under the action of an electric field. This platform is expected to be used in micro-assembly, flexible robots, and other fields.
Highlights
In recent years, the rapid development of precision positioning technology has promoted a large number of applications of multi-degree-of-freedom motion platforms in fields such as optical microscopes [1,2], micro-assembly stations [3], and micro-robots [4,5,6]
There are two main methods to fabricate a helical ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC): chemical and physical. As for the former, an IPMC with a three-dimensional shape is obtained by melt-processing the perfluorinated ionic polymer in the form of raw resin; it must be chemically treated to become ionic [29]
The results show that at any frequency, the maximum the helical IPMC actuator driven by a square wave signal is always greater than that driven axial displacement of the helical IPMC actuator driven by a square wave signal is always by a sinusoidal signal
Summary
The rapid development of precision positioning technology has promoted a large number of applications of multi-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) motion platforms in fields such as optical microscopes [1,2], micro-assembly stations [3], and micro-robots [4,5,6]. Multi-DOF platforms are usually classified into two typical system configurations, serial and parallel [7]. The serial configuration adopts a stacked or nested structure, which has the advantage of independent motion decoupling. It has some shortcomings, for example, different axes have different dynamic characteristics, and positioning errors produced by each axis will accumulate [8], leading to a decline in accuracy. The inertia is small, and the closed-loop kinematic chains enable multi-DOF platforms to achieve high rigidity, carrying capacity, and accuracy [9]. The platforms driven by these actuators suffer from the defects of complex structure and high power consumption.
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