材料押出法によるロボットハンドの一体製作に向けた柔軟構造設計法の研究

抄録

In this study, we propose a design method for compliant mechanisms using material extrusion-based additive manufacturing, with the aim of producing robot hands as one part. A compliant mechanism that performs through elastic deformation of the material simplifies the assembly process and has the potential to achieve oil-less and zero backlash operation. Our proposed design method is based on a two-dimensional bellows-like structure and a beam between its walls. The stiffness of this structure can be designed by changing the dimensions of a unit structure. It allows the fabrication of complex three-dimensional mechanisms that would be difficult to achieve through traditional manufacturing methods. In our evaluation experiments, we fabricated specimens using 6 design parameters and conducted wire-driven experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of our design method. We confirmed not only that the proposed design parameters allow for the design of the stiffness of the flexible structure both in-plane and out-of-plane, but also that the structure can be fabricated without the use of support materials by material extrusion. Finally, a single flexible structure simulating the behavior of a parallel link mechanism was designed by the proposed method. The results of the experiment confirm that the deformation of the entire structure can be designed by the proposed method.