(603e) 3D Printing of Interdigitated Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
AIChE Annual Meeting
2019
2019 AIChE Annual Meeting
Topical Conference: Next-Gen Manufacturing
Polymers in Additive Manufacturing
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 - 5:00pm to 5:20pm
The dielectric is a chemically crosslinked oil gel with a dielectric constant of 6. The acrylate crosslinking mechanism allows chemical bonding with the electrodes, providing structural integrity in the device. The oil component in the dielectric fulfills several purposes, including reducing the uncured viscosity to improve infilling in the electrodes, reducing the tangent delta in the cured state, and providing self-healing characteristics. Self-healing occurs because oil molecules damaged by charge leakage can diffuse away from the damaged site, allowing the actuator to be actuated again.
Multinozzle 3D printing enables rapid fabrication of contractile actuators with actuation strains up to 9%. The electrodes can be fabricated at a rate of 0.73 cm3/min; a device with an area of 7.5x3.9 cm2 can be fabricated in ~6 min. The use of 3D printing enables versatile designs, including actuators with orthogonal pixels and prestrain-free rotational actuators.