プリンテッドエレクトロニクス技術を応用したポリイミドフィルム製ソフトアクチュエータの開発

抄録

Actuators that drive in extreme environment such as high or low temperature environment and radiation environment has been researched. The actuators are expected to be contribute to various fields such as space exploration, deep sea exploration and rescue robots. In this laboratory, a soft actuator composed only of polyimide (PI) films and driven in an extreme environment has been developed. In this study, a method of welding for PI films by using a unit that integrates functions of a mold and a heater was proposed. The unit is fabricated by using printed electronics technology. This welding method does not require pretreatment of films, adhesives or additives. In addition, welding of various shapes is possible in a short time. To examine whether pneumatic actuators can be fabricated by this method, welding strength and maximum pressure resistance of air chamber were evaluated. The average welding strength was 521 N/m. In the pressure resistance test, the air chamber was damaged when the applied pressure was 98 kPa. As a result, it was confirmed that the air chamber welded by this method had sufficient pressure resistance to manufacture pneumatic soft actuators.