Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : March 13, 2024 - March 14, 2024
Our objective is to realize a suction cup with a low pressing force and high adhesion force by changing the stiffness of the suction cup during the adhesion process. Based on the tendency for a suction cup with higher Young's modulus to generate higher adhesion force but to need higher pressing force, we designed Young’s modulus of a suction cup to be low during pressing and high during pulling. Thermoplastic polyurethane, which can change Young's modulus with temperature, is used for changing the stiffness of suction cup. In other words, the stiffness change of the suction cup can be achieved by using a high temperature during pressing and a low temperature during pulling. We considered the structure and fabrication method of the suction cup with thermoplastic polyurethane. Then, we measured the pressing force and adhesion force for changing the temperature of the suction cup with thermoplastic polyurethane during the adhesion process. As a result, we achieved a high adhesion force and a low pressing force by changing the stiffness of the suction cup.
