Design of a Final Effector using Modular Molds for Soft Robotics

Abstract

In the present work, the design of an end effector using soft robotics is exposed. With the use of flexible and soft materials, much more complex studies can be carried out due to the freedom of movement that a robot can have, whether in the marine, industrial or care field. For the development of this work, end effectors were manufactured and test experimentally. We concluded that using one of four fingers gave us a better grip when picking up objects. Unlike the other molds used, the one used to do the job was a modular mold as it gave us the advantage and ease of being able to modify its dimensions and air chamber positions. The final dimensions of the end effector were 14 cm long, 2.60 cm wide, and 1.50 cm high. The pieces to create the air chambers were 1.30 cm long, 0.3 cm wide, and 0.6 cm high. A structure was manufactured to be able to mount the end effector to a Viper 650 robot. The most relevant results that we could notice was the time it takes for it to be able to deform, which is between 5 and 7 seconds using a pressure between 1 and 2 psi. An important factor to carry out work using air pressure is to consider a certain pressure to prevent the prototype from being damaged since, when using elastic materials, its elasticity limit must be considered to avoid breaking the design.