Diversity-Based Topology Optimization of Soft Robotic Grippers

Soft grippers are ideal for grasping delicate, deformable objects with complex geometries. Universal soft grippers have proven effective for grasping common objects, however complex objects or environments require bespoke gripper designs. Multi-material printing presents a vast design-space which, when coupled with an expressive computational...

Topology Optimization of Fluidic Pressure-Driven Multi-Material Compliant Mechanisms

Compliant mechanisms actuated by pneumatic loads are receiving increasing attention due to their direct applicability as soft robots that perform tasks using their flexible bodies. Using multiple materials to build them can further improve their performance and efficiency. Due to developments in additive manufacturing, the fabrication of...

Automated design of pneumatic soft grippers through design-dependent multi-material topology optimization

Soft robotic grasping has rapidly spread through the academic robotics community in recent years and pushed into industrial applications. At the same time, multimaterial 3D printing has become widely available, enabling the monolithic manufacture of devices containing rigid and elastic sections. We propose a novel design technique that...

Topological synthesis of fluidic pressure-actuated robust compliant mechanisms

This paper presents a robust density-based topology optimization approach for synthesizing pressure-actuated compliant mechanisms. To ensure functionality under manufacturing inaccuracies, the robust or three-field formulation is employed, involving dilated, intermediate and eroded realizations of the design. Darcy's law in conjunction with a...

On topology optimization of design-dependent pressure-loaded three-dimensional structures and compliant mechanisms: + Erratum

This article presents a density-based topology optimization method for designing three-dimensional (3D) compliant mechanisms (CMs) and loadbearing structures with design-dependent pressure loading. Instead of interface-tracking techniques, the Darcy law in conjunction with a drainage term is employed to obtain pressure field as a function of...

Topology optimization of fluidic pressure-loaded structures and compliant mechanisms using the Darcy method

In various applications, design problems involving structures and compliant mechanisms experience fluidic pressure loads. During topology optimization of such design problems, these loads adapt their direction and location with the evolution of the design, which poses various challenges. A new density-based topology optimization approach...

Compliant Fluidic Control Structures: Concept and synthesis approach

The concept and synthesis approach for planar Compliant Fluidic Control Structures (CFCSs), monolithic flexible continua with embedded functional pores, is presented in this manuscript. Such structures are envisioned to find application in biomedicine as tunable microfluidic devices for drug/nutrient delivery. The functional pores enlarge and...