Fabrication of Soft Gripper Via Direct Inkjet Writing Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) has bloomed recently in the manufacturing field due to its many applications. Direct inkjet writing (DIW) is one of the main am technologies used in the production of grippers. DIW is the most popular taking advantage of materials like silicone and hydrogels. The technology of 3D printing with silicone is still in early stages ,nevertheless, the ability to print with soft materials is very alluring. The implementation of complex geometries in the silicone world would yield vast opportunities in the medical and robotics fields. Additive manufacturing allows for this to be thoroughly examined. In this research these parameters were successfully examined and optimized to create a methodology to print silicone. A parametric analysis was performed to screen some of the parameters of the printing and refine the process to create accurate testing samples. A two-level three-factor design was performed to methodically design an experiment that would investigate optimal parameters. Parts were fabricated and tested using a tensile tester, durometer, and dimensional analysis to justify the validity of this additive manufacturing process. These samples were compared to traditionally casted parts to see if the printed samples could compare mechanical as well as dimensionally with the casted parts