Described are the state of the art on designing and developing a microgripper using ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), an electroactive material, as an actuator to grasp and manipulate micro-sized flexible and rigid objects and yet also serve as a sensor for position feedback control. IPMCs, as a material, are compliant and can work in both wet and dry environments. This makes it ideally suited for both industrial operations, e.g., building microsystems from MEMS components, as well as for a variety of bio-micromanipulation tasks, e.g., bacterium and cell handling. We derive a theoretical force model for the microgripper. The model estimates that an IPMC finger of dimensions 5mm × lmm × 0.2mm exerts a force of 85 μN when grasping a solder ball of 15mg. We experimentally measure the load carrying capacity of the IPMC microgripper. Furthermore, we show empirically that the relationship between load carry capability and the length of microgripper fingers is linear. Experiments with three different microgripper finger shapes show that load carrying performance is related to the area of the finger rather than the shape. This implies that manufacturing ease favours microgrippers with tapered fingers. Finally, we show how flexible objects (hydrogel crystals in this case) are grasped with this IPMC microgripper.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/127/1/012002/pdf

IPMC microgripper research and development

A polyvinylidene fluoride, sulfonated graphene oxide composite membrane coated with polypyrrole (Ppy) and platinum metal (Pt) was fabricated. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was done to analyze the functional groups present in the composite material. Deposition of PPy/Pt electrode and surface morphology of PVDF/SGO/Pt/PPy was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images. The capacity of ion exchange and proton conductivity (PC) of PVDF/SGO/Pt/PPy were 1.4 meq g−1 of dry ion exchanger and 4.251 × 10−2 S cm−1, respectively. A two-link flexible manipulator based on the fabricated ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) membranes was also developed where the electromechanical behaviour of a polymer-based actuator provides an important step in robotics applications.

/pdf/polyvinylidene-fluoride-sulfonated-graphene-oxide-blend-1hmvm71x99.pdf

Polyvinylidene fluoride/sulfonated graphene oxide blend membrane coated with polypyrrole/platinum electrode for ionic polymer metal composite actuator applications

Herein, we present new approaches for developing sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) and polyaniline-based (PANI) actuator formed by film-casting and chemical reduction of Pt electrodes. We have thoroughly studied the synthesis of SPEEK and characterized it by different analytical techniques. The ion-exchange capacity (IEC) and proton conductivity of SPEEK-PANI polymer membrane were calculated to be 1.98 mmol g−1 and 1.97 × 10−3 S cm−1, respectively. To develop an IPMC actuator, SPEEK was combined with PANI through in-situ polymerization method. SEM and XRD were used to check the morphology of the given SPEEK-PANI-Pt membrane. In addition, FT-IR and EDX techniques confirmed the molecular structure and chemical conformation of SPEEK-PANI polymer membrane. Pt electrode layers homogeneously dispersed on the IPMC membrane surface, which was demonstrated by smooth SEM micrographs. The actuation functioning, including the high bending deflection, proton conductivity, current density and IEC of IPMC actuator based on SPEEK-PANI-Pt, was obtained owing to its strong electrochemical and electromechanical characteristics. Synergistic combinations of SPEEK and PANI produced membrane that are flexible, mechanically strong and robust. The developed materials have immense capability as actuators for various applications including in biomimetics and robotics.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/4/668/pdf

A Convenient and Simple Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) Actuator Based on a Platinum-Coated Sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone)–Polyaniline Composite Membrane

A novel, monolithic, contact-aided, displacement-delimited gripper is presented. It is designed to employ contact interactions between its deforming members to delimit the output displacement such that excessive forces on the soft, fragile work-pieces are thwarted. The mechanism is appropriated using the topology, shape, and size optimization algorithm which, in addition to yielding structural details, also determines the interacting members and nature of contact. The symmetric halves of this design can be actuated independently thus rendering it the manipulative capabilities in addition to gripping. A cantilevered flexible “U” structure when introduced between the gripper ports of this mechanism can yield additional benefits in terms of reduced gripping forces. Macroscale Teflon prototype of the mechanism is tested on various work-pieces having different stiffness properties. Using experimentally acquired vision data, reaction loads on the work-pieces and gripper ports are estimated probabilistically by solving a Dirichlet problem for continua undergoing large deformation.

A Contact-Aided Compliant Displacement-Delimited Gripper Manipulator

Example automated storage modules for analyzer liquids are described herein. An example apparatus includes a refrigerated storage module having a plurality of shelves (to store a plurality of carriers) and a loading bay having an array of slots to receive one or more of the carriers. The loading bay is accessible by a user for manual loading or unloading of the carriers. The example apparatus includes a first carrier transporter coupled to the storage module to transfer the carriers between the shelves and a first transfer location and a second carrier transporter movable along a track connecting the storage module to an automated diagnostic analyzer. The second carrier transporter is to transfer a first carrier between the first transfer location and a slot in the loading bay and a second carrier between the first transfer location and a second transfer location accessible by the automated diagnostic analyzer.

Automated storage modules for diagnostic analyzer liquids and related systems and methods

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

An automated small particle distribution system is provided for transferring small particles from source tubes to destination tubes. The system includes a loading deck that is structured and operable to store and provide a plurality of source tube trays and a plurality of destination tube trays. Each source tube tray includes a plurality of source tubes stored therein, and each destination tube tray includes a plurality of destination tubes stored therein. The system additionally includes a work deck is structured and operable to receive selected source tube trays and selected destination tube trays from the loading deck, aspirate various specified amounts of small objects stored in selected source tubes, and deposit the aspirated small objects into selected destination tubes without cross-contamination of small objects.

Small object distribution automation

The goal of this work is to develop a microgripper using an 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 carry capability and the length of microgripper fingers is linear. We show how flexible objects (hydrogels in this case) are grasped with this IPMC microgripper. Finally, a microgripper finger that is simultaneously an actuator and a sensor is described, along with performance measurements.

Chapter 12:Design, Test, and Micromanipulation using an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Microgripper

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Measuring the Load-Carrying Capability of IPMC Microgripper Fingers

Small object distribution automation

Chapter 12:Design, Test, and Micromanipulation using an Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Microgripper