3D Printing of Small‐Scale Soft Robots with Programmable Magnetization

Soft magnetic structures having a non‐uniform magnetization profile can achieve multimodal locomotion that is helpful to operate in confined spaces. However, incorporating such magnetic anisotropy into their body is not straightforward. Existing methods are either limited in the anisotropic profiles...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2023-04, Vol.33 (15), p.n/a
Main Authors: Ansari, Mohammad Hasan Dad, Iacovacci, Veronica, Pane, Stefano, Ourak, Mouloud, Borghesan, Gianni, Tamadon, Izadyar, Vander Poorten, Emmanuel, Menciassi, Arianna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D printers
3D printing
Confined spaces
Locomotion
magnetic actuation
Magnetic anisotropy
Magnetization
Materials science
microrobotics
programmable magnetization
Prototyping
Robots
Soft robotics
soft robots
Three dimensional printing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Soft magnetic structures having a non‐uniform magnetization profile can achieve multimodal locomotion that is helpful to operate in confined spaces. However, incorporating such magnetic anisotropy into their body is not straightforward. Existing methods are either limited in the anisotropic profiles they can achieve or too cumbersome and time‐consuming to produce. Herein, a 3D printing method allowing to incorporate magnetic anisotropy directly into the printed soft structure is demonstrated. This offers at the same time a simple and time‐efficient magnetic soft robot prototyping strategy. The proposed process involves orienting the magnetized particles in the magnetic ink used in the 3D printer by a custom electromagnetic coil system acting onto the particles while printing. The resulting structures are extensively characterized to confirm the validity of the process. The extent of orientation is determined to be between 92% and 99%. A few examples of remotely actuated small‐scale soft robots that are printed through this method are also demonstrated. Just like 3D printing gives the freedom to print a large number of variations in shapes, the proposed method also gives the freedom to incorporate an extensive range of magnetic anisotropies. A Novel 3D printing method that can print complex structures and incorporate a wide range of anisotropy into it is presented. After extensive characterizations, exemplary soft robots are presented which demonstrated the effectiveness of the strategy. The presented method offers a simple and time‐efficient path for fabricating magnetic soft robots and may help in improving their functionalities and applications.
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.202211918