Optimization Of Structural Parameters And Materials On Dynamic Behavior Of Pneumatic Network Actuators In Soft Robotics Grippers

Soft robotics is a recent upcoming field whose main target is to use soft materials to build parts of robotic systems such as end factors or grippers which handle activities that are hard for traditional robotics.The shortcomings of rigid robotics such as being heavy,building cost and not human friendly is the reason of soft structures to address such issues.Since the materials used in soft robotics are resilient they therefore mitigate outcome of wear and tear which hard robotics experience.Due to robotics advancement to artificial intelligence today,most robotic systems are animal-like.Society have fabricated machines to make difficult or tedious tasks easier for humans.Movement at fast speeds or handling vast materials requires equipment that is distinctly different from humans.The design and controlling mechanism of soft robots is straightforward to enhance easy bending,extending,twisting and expanding other than in hard robotics where it uses complex,motorized and heavy mechanical structures.In this paper,research is on soft actuators.As of late their exist distinctive drive techniques for soft actuators,for example,fluidic elastomer actuators(FEA),shape memory alloy actuator(SMA),dielectric/electrically-actuated polymers(DEAP),pneumatic actuators and so forth.We consider pneumatic systems as most utilized in application cases such as medicinal restoration machines for instance arm joints recovery and industrial cases such as packaging of delicate properties.The decision of pneumatic systems is on the grounds that it is safe,fast movable speed,light and basic operation principle.This thesis involves designing a soft gripper dependent on pneumatic systems soft controls.In order to decide the choice of reasonable structure size parameters for the soft pneumatic actuator,first it involves design of the soft gripper considering five different lengths(L),air gaps(d)and wall thickness(t)then doing finite element analysis including the bending angle and maximum displacement using ABAQUS software.According to the results an optimal or ideal case of the pneumatic actuator is chosen which was of length 146.25 mm,air gap distance of 1.25 mm and wall thickness of 2.25 mm.When we have the optimal case then the next step is fabrication of the finger,but before that a 3D model is designed in order to fit the specifics of the finger.3D model is designed by drawing using User Graphics and then printed in the lab.Once we have the model,then it involves the fabrication of the finger.A simple testing experiment is set up and comparing the analytical dynamic behavior to experiment case which was found to be of similar behavior.Also the effect of materials to the bending angle and flexibility was analyzed by an experiment to give a reference on material selection since the actuator is made of two main stiffness difference.Lastly grasping experiments were done on different items under different pressures.The finding of the research can help in industrial case where delicate specified objects can be handled carefully under some specific pressure.