Development of Quadruped Robot TITAN-E1 Using Plastic Structural Parts Printed by Fused Deposition Modeling

Abstract

In recent years, the use of 3D printed plastic parts has been attracting attention. However, due to their inferior dimension accuracy, stiffness and strength, there are few examples of using them as structural parts for robots that are subjected to loads. In this study, we developed a quadruped robot, TITAN-E1, in order to verify the applicability of plastic parts made by fused deposition modeling 3D printers to robot structural parts. As a result, it was found that the 3D printed plastic parts had the sufficient dimensional accuracy and the stiffness and strength required for stable static walking. Therefore, the applicability of the 3D printed plastic parts to the structural parts of the quadruped robot was confirmed.