Purpose

End-use objects produced via additive manufacturing (AM) are on the rise and new applications in the fluid power industry are emerging. Recently, a custom, pneumatic, rotary actuator was been designed and additively manufactured for integration into an active ankle-foot orthosis that is being developed in the National Science Foundation’s Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. All necessary plumbing, between the valves and vanes, is integrated into the additively-manufactured housing of the actuator; and, the silicone translating seals were vacuum-transfer molded using additively-manufactured molds and inserts. This non-conventional actuator has more theoretical torque, and weighs less, than the off-the-shelf component that it replaced. Further development will reduce seal leakage, and optimize designs for additional mass reduction. Results-to-date are presented, in addition to several other examples of the growing use of AM in the fluid-power industry