Design and Production of Multi Material 3d Printer for Soft Robotic Structural Elements

Abstract

With the latest technology, the development and interest in soft robots have gained speed. Flexible robots are generally produced by the casting method. This traditional production method cannot meet the required quality and production speed. For this, it is aimed to solve the problem by accelerating the production of robots without decreasing the quality. The most successful method for solving this problem is 3D printers, which could print multiple materials. It was decided to be used multi-materials printing, and the system design was carried out. This study aims to design and produce a multi-material 3D printer capable of printing non-conductive and conductive rapidly curing silicone that can be used in soft robotics and medical simulators. The electrical conductivity was achieved by mixing silicone and graphite powder. The parts in the designed system are also obtained by the additive manufacturing method. Test pieces were printed using the produced 3D printer. Specific tests have been carried out on the produced parts. Technical data such as strength, elasticity, electrical conductivity have been obtained.