Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. Inkjet 3D printing of UV and thermal cure silicone elastomers for dielectric elastomer actuators
 
research article

Inkjet 3D printing of UV and thermal cure silicone elastomers for dielectric elastomer actuators

McCoul, David
•
Rosset, Samuel  
•
Schlatter, Samuel  
Show more
2017
Smart Materials and Structures

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are an attractive form of electromechanical transducer, possessing high energy densities, an efficient design, mechanical compliance, high speed, and noiseless operation. They have been incorporated into a wide variety of devices, such as microfluidic systems, cell bioreactors, tunable optics, haptic displays, and actuators for soft robotics. Fabrication of DEA devices is complex, and the majority are inefficiently made by hand. 3D printing offers an automated and flexible manufacturing alternative that can fabricate complex, multi-material, integrated devices consistently and in high resolution. We present a novel additive manufacturing approach to DEA devices in which five commercially available, thermal and UV-cure DEA silicone rubber materials have been 3D printed with a drop-on-demand, piezoelectric inkjet system. Using this process, 3D structures and high-quality silicone dielectric elastomer membranes as thin as 2 μm have been printed that exhibit mechanical and actuation performance at least as good as conventionally blade-cast membranes. Printed silicone membranes exhibited maximum tensile strains of up to 727%, and DEAs with printed silicone dielectrics were actuated up to 6.1% area strain at a breakdown strength of 84 V μm−1 and also up to 130 V μm−1 at 2.4% strain. This approach holds great potential to manufacture reliable, high-performance DEA devices with high throughput.

  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
research article
DOI
10.1088/1361-665X/aa9695
Web of Science ID

WOS:000415060000005

Author(s)
McCoul, David
Rosset, Samuel  
Schlatter, Samuel  
Shea, Herbert  
Date Issued

2017

Publisher

Institute of Physics

Published in
Smart Materials and Structures
Volume

26

Issue

12

Article Number

125022

Subjects

3D printing

•

silicone

•

inkjet

•

drop-on-demand

•

dielectric elastomer actuator

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LMTS  
Available on Infoscience
November 16, 2017
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/142199
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés