Flexible Gripper Manufacturing and Simulation Based on 3D Printing

Abstract

A flexible gripper combining 3D printing and electromechanical control system is presented. The thermodynamic behavior of shape memory polymer is used to action resetting after motor drive controls grasping. The gripper is fabricated using photopolymerization with high cycle-life shape memory polymers. Experimental results show that shape memory polymers with 10wt% crosslinker and 1wt%$\sim$1.5wt% photo-initiators exhibit excellent performance with nearly 100% full recovery, fixity and stability of the shape memory properties within seconds. Besides, a numerical model is established and the simulation results are validated. Using an electromechanical control system, the flexible gripper is easily controlled to grasp objects while maintaining the grasping force, thus proving a future perspective for biomedical and soft robotic applications.