Low-Cost 3D printed, Biocompatible Ionic Polymer Membranes for Soft Actuators
Ionic polymer actuators, in essence, consist of ion exchange polymers sandwiched between layers of electrodes. They have recently gained recognition as promising candidates for soft actuators due to their lightweight nature, noise-free operation, and low-driving voltages. However, the materials traditionally utilized to develop them are often not human/environmentally friendly. Thus, to address this issue, researchers have been focusing on developing biocompatible versions of this actuator. Despite this, such actuators still face challenges in achieving high performance, in payload capacity, bending capabilities, and response time. In this paper, we present a biocompatible ionic polymer actuator whose membrane is fully 3D printed utilizing a direct ink writing method. The structure of the printed membranes consists of biodegradable ionic fluid encapsulated within layers of activated carbon polymers. From the microscopic observations of its structure, we confirmed that the ionic polymer is well encapsulated. The actuators can achieve a bending performance of up to 124° (curvature of 0.82 cm-1), which, to our knowledge, is the highest curvature attained by any bending ionic polymer actuator to date. It can operate comfortably up to a 2 Hz driving frequency and can achieve blocked forces of up to 0.76 mN. Our results showcase a promising, high-performing biocompatible ionic polymer actuator, whose membrane can be easily manufactured in a single step using a standard FDM 3D printer. This approach paves the way for creating customized designs for functional soft robotic applications, including human-interactive devices, in the near future.
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Trumpler, N., Kanno, R., David, N., Huch, A., Nguyen, P. H., Jurinovs, M., Nystrom, G., Gaidukovs, S., & Kovac, M. (2025, June 4). Low-Cost 3D printed, Biocompatible Ionic Polymer Membranes for Soft Actuators. 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2025. 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), Lausanne, Switzerland, April 22, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1109/robosoft63089.2025.11020941
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ETH Zürich
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
ETH Zürich
Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Riga Technical University
ETH Zürich
Riga Technical University
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2025-06-04
9798331520205
REVIEWED
EPFL
| Event name | Event acronym | Event place | Event date |
RoboSoft 2025 | Lausanne, Switzerland | 2025-04-22 - 2025-04-26 | |