The goal of this work is to develop a microgripper using electroactive ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) as an actuator to grasp and manipulate micro-sized flexible and rigid objects. We derive a theoretical force model for the microgripper that estimates that an IPMC finger exerts a force of 85 μN when grasping a solder ball of 15 mg, and experimentally verify the result. We also show empirically that the relationship between load carrying capability and the length of microgripper fingers is linear. Finally, we show how flexible objects (hydrogels in this case) are grasped with this IPMC microgripper.

Design and test of IPMC artificial muscle microgripper

The goal of this work is to develop a microgripper using ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), an electroactive material, and to understand the relationship between finger shape and load-carrying capability. This microgripper supports manipulation of rigid and flexible objects in wet and dry environments. The paper first describes the design of the microgripper, which consists of a "pincher" mechanism that holds the IPMC fingers. Two finger shapes are considered. The first shape, denoted as "straight" fingers, is tested for load-carrying capability by picking up pre-weighed micro-balls of solder. Since IPMC is a compliant material, it was expected that shorter length fingers would carry more load. We found experimentally a linear relationship between finger length and load-carrying capability. The second finger shape is tapered. This finger shape was compared with the straight fingers by measuring the load-carrying performance of several different sizes of each finger shape. It was found that shape has a relatively minor effect. The load-carrying capability was found to be related primarily to the area of the finger. Thus, the microgripper finger shape should be chosen based on the ease of manufacturing. In terms of total strength, it was noted that the microgripper carried loads that exceed the weight of the fingers by a factor of seven.

Measuring the Load-Carrying Capability of IPMC Microgripper Fingers

Ionic polymer?metal composites (IPMC) are a class of electroactive polymers (EAP), and they currently attract numerous researchers to study their performance characteristics and applications. However, research on its start-up characteristics still requires more attention. In the IPMC start-up state (the moment of applying an actuation voltage at the very beginning), its mechanical performance is different in the stable working state (working for at least 10?min). Therefore, this paper focuses on three performance relationships of an IPMC strip between its maximal tip deformation and voltage, its maximal stress and voltage, as well as its maximal strain and voltage, both in the two states. Different from other reports, we found that they present nonlinear tendencies in the start-up state rather than linear ones. Therefore, based on the equivalent bimorph beam model, a finite element electromechanical coupling calculation module in the ANSYS software was utilized to simulate these characteristics. Furthermore, a test system is introduced to validate the phenomena. As a whole, these three relationships and the FEA method may be beneficial for providing control strategies effectively to IPMC actuators, especially in their start-up states.

Three nonlinear performance relationships in the start-up state of IPMC strips based on finite element analysis

Recently, a type of flexible grippers with low power supply (0–5 V) has been designed and developed for grasping small but precision parts. In previous work, the authors manufactured a soft gripper whose actuating components are made of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) materials; however, there is not a comprehensive model to analyze the complete mechanics for this IPMC gripper. Therefore, this paper provides a finite element method for analyzing its static mechanics characteristics in the state with maximal stress and strain (i.e., the gripper opening largest, including the IPMC deformation, stress, and strain). Further, these electromechanical coupling relationships can be simulated by using the piezoelectric analysis module based on ANSYS software. The simulation results show that the maximal tip displacement of IPMC strips can nearly reach their own free length, the maximal stress is 54 MPa in the center of copper electrodes, and the maximal strain is 0.0286 on the IPMC strip. The results provide detailed numerical solutions and appropriate finite element analysis methodologies beneficial for further research on the optimization design, forecast analysis, and control field.

IPMC gripper static analysis based on finite element analysis

Many kinds of microgrippers have been developed for handling and manipulating micro-sized objects in the fields of various applications. However, the micro-force sensing is still one of the most troublesome problems to improve the reliability of manipulation. To circumvent the problem, in this paper, a microgripper with the structure of dual cantilevers, which is driven by two PZT bimorphs, was designed for the requirement of microassembly tasks. The piezoelectric bimorph model was built, and the displacement-voltage relationship was analysed. In order to obtain the micro force, a Wheatstone bridge circuit that was made up of resistance strain gauge sticked on the root of the PZT bimorph was introduced, sensing the signal because of the strain of the cantilever. Then, according to the sensor signal, PC monitoring system can adjust actuating voltage to achieve safe handling. The experiment results testify that the gripper can work reliably and safely, it satisfies the task of micro assembly.

Research on PZT bimorph microgripper system

Microscale grasping and manipulation has opened new avenues in the field of bio-manipulation and assembly of MEMS components Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) artificial muscles offer a promising approach for manipulating flexible objects like biological cells IPMC membranes are electroactive, and therefore bend when a voltage is applied across them Since they are both flexible and compliant, they do not damage fragile objects during manipulation IPMCs can be cut as small as desired without losing any of their properties, and are therefore ideal for micromanipulation applications This paper describes how these IPMCs in a microgripper configuration can be used to grasp flexible objects and presents experimental results of the first generation IPMC microgripper

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/9827/30979/01438551.pdf

Grasping flexible objects using artificial muscle microgrippers

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Grasping flexible objects using artificial muscle microgrippers