This week we will be working on integrating the actuators with the printable robots. Thus far, we have an elementary design that shows the 10% contraction of the actuators. This actuator was made from a 20 cm precursor length and coiled under 200 RPM and a 100 gram load. The coiled length was 5 cm. After annealing (12 cycles of 30s on, 30s off at 3V), the coiled length was 5.5 cm. Thus, when powered at 3V later, the actuator contracted to 5 cm and expanded to 5.5 cm.

Potential problems we anticipate with the attachment process:

  • The high temperature of the actuators and the flammability of the paper.
  • Connecting the power supply/voltage source to the actuators while positioned in the robot.
  • Dimensioning the actuators appropriately so that they fit and contract properly within the desired robotic figure
  • Video: 15x speed IMG_0004.MOV

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