Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics

Soft robotics have become increasingly popular as a versatile alternative to traditional robotics. Magnetic composite materials, which respond to external magnetic fields, have attracted significant interest in this field due to their programmable two-way actuation and shape-morphing capabilities. A...

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Main Authors: Anil Bastola, Luke Parry, Robyn Worsley, Nisar Ahmed, Edward Lester, Richard Hague, Christopher Tuck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Additive Manufacturing Letters
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369024000586
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author Anil Bastola
Luke Parry
Robyn Worsley
Nisar Ahmed
Edward Lester
Richard Hague
Christopher Tuck
author_facet Anil Bastola
Luke Parry
Robyn Worsley
Nisar Ahmed
Edward Lester
Richard Hague
Christopher Tuck
author_sort Anil Bastola
collection DOAJ
description Soft robotics have become increasingly popular as a versatile alternative to traditional robotics. Magnetic composite materials, which respond to external magnetic fields, have attracted significant interest in this field due to their programmable two-way actuation and shape-morphing capabilities. Additive manufacturing (AM)/3D printing allows for the incorporation of different functional composite materials to create active components for soft robotics. However, current AM methods have limitations, especially when it comes to printing smart composite materials with high functional material content. This is a key requirement for enhancing responsiveness to external stimuli. Commonly used AM methods for smart magnetic composites, such as direct ink writing (DIW), confront challenges in achieving discontinuous printing, and enabling multi-material control at the voxel level, while some AM techniques are not suitable for producing composite materials. To address these limitations, we employed high-viscosity drop-on-demand (DoD) jetting and developed programmable magnetic composites filled with micron-sized hard magnetic particles. This method bridges the gap between conventional ink-jetting and DIW, which require printing inks with viscosities at opposite ends of the spectrum. This high-viscosity DoD jetting enables continuous, discontinuous, and non-contact printing, making it a versatile and effective method for 3D printing functional magnetic composites even with micron-sized fillers. Furthermore, we demonstrated stable magnetic domain programming and two-way shape-morphing actuations of printed structures for soft robotics. In summary, our work highlights high-viscosity DoD jetting as a promising method for printing functional magnetic composites and other similar materials for a wide range of applications.
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spelling doaj-art-d81517e785bf4e7585e5a02b6e6040a12025-08-20T02:50:26ZengElsevierAdditive Manufacturing Letters2772-36902024-12-011110025010.1016/j.addlet.2024.100250Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft roboticsAnil Bastola0Luke Parry1Robyn Worsley2Nisar Ahmed3Edward Lester4Richard Hague5Christopher Tuck6Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom; Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, SA1 8EN, United Kingdom; Corresponding authors.Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United KingdomCentre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United KingdomCentre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United KingdomAdvanced Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United KingdomCentre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United KingdomCentre for Additive Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom; Corresponding authors.Soft robotics have become increasingly popular as a versatile alternative to traditional robotics. Magnetic composite materials, which respond to external magnetic fields, have attracted significant interest in this field due to their programmable two-way actuation and shape-morphing capabilities. Additive manufacturing (AM)/3D printing allows for the incorporation of different functional composite materials to create active components for soft robotics. However, current AM methods have limitations, especially when it comes to printing smart composite materials with high functional material content. This is a key requirement for enhancing responsiveness to external stimuli. Commonly used AM methods for smart magnetic composites, such as direct ink writing (DIW), confront challenges in achieving discontinuous printing, and enabling multi-material control at the voxel level, while some AM techniques are not suitable for producing composite materials. To address these limitations, we employed high-viscosity drop-on-demand (DoD) jetting and developed programmable magnetic composites filled with micron-sized hard magnetic particles. This method bridges the gap between conventional ink-jetting and DIW, which require printing inks with viscosities at opposite ends of the spectrum. This high-viscosity DoD jetting enables continuous, discontinuous, and non-contact printing, making it a versatile and effective method for 3D printing functional magnetic composites even with micron-sized fillers. Furthermore, we demonstrated stable magnetic domain programming and two-way shape-morphing actuations of printed structures for soft robotics. In summary, our work highlights high-viscosity DoD jetting as a promising method for printing functional magnetic composites and other similar materials for a wide range of applications.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369024000586Magnetic compositesSmart materialsAdditive manufacturing3D printingHigh-viscosity jettingSoft robotics
spellingShingle Anil Bastola
Luke Parry
Robyn Worsley
Nisar Ahmed
Edward Lester
Richard Hague
Christopher Tuck
Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
Additive Manufacturing Letters
Magnetic composites
Smart materials
Additive manufacturing
3D printing
High-viscosity jetting
Soft robotics
title Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
title_full Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
title_fullStr Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
title_full_unstemmed Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
title_short Drop-on-demand 3D printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
title_sort drop on demand 3d printing of programable magnetic composites for soft robotics
topic Magnetic composites
Smart materials
Additive manufacturing
3D printing
High-viscosity jetting
Soft robotics
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772369024000586
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