Modular Elastic Lattice Platform for Rapid Prototyping of Tensegrity Robots

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee-Huang Chen ◽  
Mallory C. Daly ◽  
Andrew P. Sabelhaus ◽  
Lara A. Janse van Vuuren ◽  
Hunter J. Garnier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Laser Cutting ◽  
Lattice Structure ◽  
Tensegrity Structures ◽  
Assembly Time ◽  
Scientific Experiments ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Elastic Lattice ◽  
Design Techniques

This paper presents a new platform for prototyping tensegrity robots that uses an elastic lattice structure for the robots’ tension network. This approach significantly reduces the time required for design, manufacturing, and assembly, while increasing experimental repeatability and symmetry of the tensioned robot. The platform allows more scientific experiments to be performed in less time and with higher quality. This lattice platform, with associated laser-cutting design techniques developed in this work, has been applied to three types of tensegrity structures: 6-bar spheres, 12-bar spheres, and multiple-vertebra tensegrity spines. For the 12-bar tensegrity case in particular, this new lattice platform has allowed multiple different shapes to be explored as designs for future robots. Basic testing confirmed a reduction in robot assembly time from multiple hours down to a mean of one-two minutes for the 6-bar prototype, five-ten minutes for the various 12-bar prototypes, and approximately seven minutes for the spine.

Design and Manufacture of a Miniature UAV Using 3D Rapid Prototyping

2011 ◽  
Vol 308-310 ◽  
pp. 1426-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahari Taha ◽  
Vin Cent Tai ◽  
Phen Chiak See
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene ◽  
Main Motivation ◽  
Design Specifications ◽  
Rapid Product Development ◽  
Aerial Vehicle ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Design And Manufacture ◽  
Butadiene Styrene

This paper describes the design and manufacture of a Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MUAV) using the StratasysTM 3D Rapid Prototyping (RP) machine. The main motivation for this work is to demonstrate the rapid product development capabilities of the machine. The polymeric material used in this process is Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS). Its superior properties allow the MUAV structure to be built accurately to design specifications. The advantage of this approach is the shorter time required for design, fabrication and deployment.

An Algorithm for a Near Optimal NC Path Generation in Staircase (Lase) Traversal of Convex Polygonal Surfaces

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. V. Kamarthi ◽  
S. T. S. Bukkapatnam ◽  
S. Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Path Length ◽  
Tool Path ◽  
Path Generation ◽  
Convex Polygons ◽  
Sweep Angle ◽  
Pocket Milling ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Path Lengths ◽  
Better Than

This paper presents an analytical model of the tool path for staircase traversal of convex polygonal surfaces, and an algorithm—referred to as OPTPATH—developed based on the model to find the sweep angle that gives a near optimal tool path length. The OPTPATH algorithm can be used for staircase traversal with or without (i) overlaps between successive sweep passes, and (ii) rapid traversal along edge passes. This flexibility of OPTPATH renders it applicable not only to conventional operations such as face and pocket milling, but also to other processes such as robotic deburring, rapid prototyping, and robotic spray painting. The effective tool path lengths provided by OPTPATH are compared with those given by the following two algorithms: (i) a common industrial heuristic—referred to as the IH algorithm—and (ii) an algorithm proposed by Prabhu et al. (Prabhu, P. V., Gramopadhye, A. K., and Wang, H. P., 1990, Int. J. Prod. Res., 28, No. 1, pp. 101–130) referred to as PGW algorithm. This comparison is conducted using 100 randomly generated convex polygons of different shapes and a set of seven different tool diameters. It is found that OPTPATH performs better than both the IH as well as PGW algorithms. The superiority of OPTPATH over the two algorithms becomes more pronounced for large tool diameters. [S1087-1357(00)71501-2]

A three-dimensional algorithm using two-dimensional slice data for building multiple parts in layered manufacturing

2000 ◽  
Vol 214 (5) ◽  
pp. 365-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Hur ◽  
K Lee ◽  
J Ahn ◽  
H C Lee
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Packing Problem ◽  
Optimal Placement ◽  
Normal Vector ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Stl File ◽  
Work Volume ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Efficient Packing

In a rapid prototyping process, the time required to build multiple prototype parts can be reduced by building several parts simultaneously in a work volume. Interactive arrangement of the multiple parts, called three-dimensional nesting, is a tedious process and does not guarantee the optimal placement of all the parts. The three-dimensional nesting is well known as a problem requiring intense computation. Thus, an efficient algorithm to solve this problem is still under investigation. This paper presumes that the three-dimensional packing problem can be simplified into a set of two-dimensional irregular polygon nesting problems for each layer to take advantage of the characteristic of a rapid prototyping process, i. e. the process eventually uses two-dimensional slicing data of the STL file. The proposed algorithm uses a no-fit polygon (NFP) to calculate the allowable locations of each slice of a part such that it does not overlap other existing slices in the same z level. Then the allowable position of the part with respect to other parts already located in a work volume can be determined by obtaining the union of all NFPs that are obtained from each slice of the part. Additionally, a genetic algorithm is used to try and determine the various orders of the placement of the part and the various orientations of each part for efficient packing. Various orientations of a part are examined by rotating it about the normal vector of the slice in finite angles and by inversion. The proposed algorithm can be applied to a rapid prototyping process that does not use support structures.

Compact Tensegrity Robots Capable of Locomotion Through Mass-Shifting

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Rhodes ◽  
Vishesh Vikas
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Laser Cutting ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Point Contact ◽  
Internal Mass ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
Reaction Forces ◽  
Breaking Symmetry

Abstract Robustness, compactness, and portability of tensegrity robots make them suitable candidates for locomotion on unknown terrains. Locomotion is achieved by breaking symmetry and altering the position of center-of-mass to induce “tip-over”. The design of curved links of tensegrity mechanisms allows continuous change in the point of contact (along the curve) as compared to discontinuities in the traditional straight links (point contact) which induces impulse reaction forces during locomotion. The illustrated curve-link tensegrity robot achieves smooth locomotion through internal mass-shifting. Additionally, this tensegrity robot displays folding and unfolding. Introduced is a design methodology for fabricating tensegrity robots of varying morphologies with modular components created using rapid prototyping techniques, including 3D printing and laser-cutting. The techniques are utilized to fabricate simple tensegrity structures, followed by locomotive tensegrity robots in icosahedron and half-circle arc morphologies.

scholarly journals Design of Customized TPU Lattice Structures for Additive Manufacturing: Influence on the Functional Properties in Elastic Products

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 4341
Author(s):  
Sergio de la Rosa ◽  
Pedro F. Mayuet ◽  
José Ramón Méndez Salgueiro ◽  
Lucía Rodríguez-Parada
Keyword(s):  
Lattice Structure ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Statistical Treatment ◽  
Lattice Structures ◽  
Compression Process ◽  
Element Simulation ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Manufacturing Parameters ◽  
Elastic Lattice

This work focuses on evaluating and establishing the relationship of the influence of geometrical and manufacturing parameters in stiffness of additively manufactured TPU lattice structures. The contribution of this work resides in the creation of a methodology that focuses on characterizing the behavior of elastic lattice structures. Likewise, resides in the possibility of using the statistical treatment of results as a guide to find favorable possibilities within the range of parameters studied and to predict the behavior of the structures. In order to characterize their behavior, different types of specimens were designed and tested by finite element simulation of a compression process using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools. The tests showed that the stiffness depends on the topology of the cells of the lattice structure. For structures with different cell topologies, it has been possible to obtain an increase in the reaction force against compression from 24.7 N to 397 N for the same manufacturing conditions. It was shown that other parameters with a defined influence on the stiffness of the structure were the temperature and the unit size of the cells, all due to the development of fusion mechanisms and the variation in the volume of material used, respectively.

scholarly journals Proportional Microvalve Using a Unimorph Piezoelectric Microactuator

Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Gunda ◽  
Gürhan Özkayar ◽  
Marcel Tichem ◽  
Murali Krishna Ghatkesar
Keyword(s):  
Form Factor ◽  
Power Consumption ◽  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
High Power ◽  
Laser Cutting ◽  
Maximum Displacement ◽  
Open Flow ◽  
Flow Control Devices ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Control Devices

Microvalves are important flow-control devices in many standalone and integrated microfluidic applications. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based pneumatic microvalves are commonly used but they generally require large peripheral connections that decrease portability. There are many alternatives found in the literature that use Si-based microvalves, but variants that can throttle even moderate pressures (1 bar) tend to be bulky (cm-range) or consume high power. This paper details the development of a low-power, normally-open piezoelectric microvalve to control flows with a maximum driving pressure of 1 bar, but also retain a small effective form-factor of 5 mm × 5 mm × 1.8 mm. A novel combination of rapid prototyping methods like stereolithography and laser-cutting have been used to realize this device. The maximum displacement of the fabricated piezoelectric microactuator was measured to be 8.5 μm at 150 V. The fabricated microvalve has a flow range of 0–90 μL min−1 at 1 bar inlet pressure. When fully closed, a leakage of 0.8% open-flow was observed with a power-consumption of 37.5 μW. A flow resolution of 0.2 μL min−1—De-ionized (DI) water was measured at 0.5 bar pressure.

Toying With Design: Experiencing Design for Rapid Prototyping Using Mini-Fabrication Exercises

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Banerjee ◽  
Caleb Carithers ◽  
Aniket Chavan ◽  
Devarajan Ramanujan ◽  
Karthik Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Material Properties ◽  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Laser Cutting ◽  
Classroom Setting ◽  
Gear Pair ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Aided Design

This study explores the use of mini-fabrication exercises for helping students learn design for rapid prototyping in computer-aided design and prototyping courses in engineering curricula. To this end, we conducted mini-fabrication exercises in ME444 — an undergraduate course at Purdue University. The exercises provide hands-on exposure to design for rapid prototyping principles using simplified design problems. We developed two mini-fabrication exercises in ME444; (i) gear pair design & box design using laser cutting, and (ii) toy catapult design using stereolithography printing. These exercises were tested in a classroom-setting with 51 undergraduate students. Results show the mini-fabrication exercises facilitated students’ learning of geometric dimensioning & tolerancing, part sizing, and material properties in laser cutting and stereolithography printing.

Universal Mass Ratios of Non-Unique Spanning Clusters in Percolation

1997 ◽  
Vol 08 (05) ◽  
pp. 1169-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parongama Sen ◽  
Amnon Aharony
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Dimension ◽  
Percolation Threshold ◽  
Lattice Structure ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Mass Ratios ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
The Masses

We find that when two or more spanning clusters exist at the percolation threshold, the mass of each scales with the same fractal dimension D=1.89 in two dimensions and D=2.53 in three dimensions. We also determine the ratios of the masses of the spanning clusters. In two dimensions, this is done for different lattices of different shapes. In the case of two spanning clusters, the ratio of the larger spanning cluster to the smaller lies around 1.4 for two dimensions, almost independent of lattice structure and shape.

Telepresence for Distributed Rapid Prototyping: A VRML Approach

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Huegel ◽  
M. A. Ganter ◽  
D. W. Storti
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Design Concepts ◽  
Customer Feedback ◽  
Current State ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Remote User ◽  
Office Equipment

Abstract In response to economic forces that continue to pressure designers/engineers to speed the product development process and decrease the time required to bring new products to market, designers/engineers are more frequently employing rapid prototyping to test design concepts and stimulate customer feedback in the earlier stages of design. Rapid prototyping (RP) is therefore becoming an integral part of the design and manufacturing process to which designers/engineers desire direct access on a regular basis. However, such access is not currently possible, since prototyping machines have not yet fulfilled the goal of becoming inexpensive and ubiquitous office equipment. This paper presents an extendable process that provides virtual access to manufacturing machines via the Internet. We chose two RP systems to demonstrate our technique. Our approach uses Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) as a standard for transmitting the 3D graphical information necessary for a remote user to interact with a virtual representation of a real prototyping machine. The user thus achieves an effective telepresence in the distributed rapid prototyping environment. Following a brief discussion of related research and the essentials of VRML, we present examples describing the current state of telepresence achievable for two rapid prototyping systems.

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