Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
In February 2022, news broke of researchers at the Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) in Austria 3D printing a soft robotic finger using a special gel that could be repeatedly reused before it would degrade. Circa June 2020, they devised a recipe involving gelatine, glucose, citric acid and glycerol, their work on which was published in the journal Nature Materials. (Citric acid was used as a preservative to help prevent the growth of bacteria and mould in the gel, glycerol was used to help the gel keep its shape in water.) Their research was published in the journal Science Robotics.
By adjusting the ratios of glycerol and glucose, the team made a 3D printable gel that could be stretched up to 6 times its original length without being damaged; it could also be remelted and reused 5 more times, and completely dissolve when placed in water, compost or sewage for several hours. Their robot was controllable via compressed air and had 3D printed strips with integrated LEDs and light sensors, making a stretchable sensor that could measure changes in light intensity as the gel was bent and compressed. Combining the finger and light-sensing device enabled the team to make a soft robot that could detect objects around itself and push them away. For further work, the team hopes to make new gel formulations that are easier to print into more complex shapes; they also hope that their work will lead to the production of more environmentally sustainable soft robots.
Another albeit relatively old example of a 3D printed soft robot is SoFi from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Unveiled in March 2018, SoFi was made to swim in the ocean alongside real fish and could be controlled by a diver who could be up to 70ft (21.3m) away. During test dives at the Rainbow Reef in Fiji, it swam at depths of more than 50ft (15.2m) underwater for up to 40 minutes at a time. (The photographs and videos it took were unsurprisingly done with a fisheye lens.) As with JKU, the team’s research was published in the journal Science Robotics.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “Soft under-actuated fish-like robot” has been dedicated to the public domain by its author (known only as Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado ) under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
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