5 ms·

Soft Silicone Pneumatics Are 3D-printed in a Tub of Gel

95 points by beardicus 8y ago

Isamu 8y ago
This is a project coming from the self-assembly lab, which has a number of interesting things brewing: https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/ https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/
mpolichette 8y ago
So, this is the start of westworld?
- DonHopkins 8y ago
  Or Alien! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrf0cH4o_g4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrf0cH4o_g4
fallat 8y ago
I will pay for the first printed seat cushion. I expect such a cushion to be pretty cheap based on the paper detailing the materials used.
- gene-h 8y ago
  The materials may be cheap, but the printer's time probably will not be.
- deckar01 8y ago
  Machine time and operator time are about 20x more expensive than material cost when I quote 3D print requests.
- bsder 8y ago
  You could probably get this from Carbon3D right now: Caution: Marketing articles https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/06/technology/adidas-speedfactory/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/06/technology/adidas-speedfact... https://www.carbon3d.com/stories/adidas/ https://www.carbon3d.com/stories/adidas/
blorenz 8y ago
This is going to disrupt balloon artistry!
jewelthief91 8y ago
I want someone to 3D print hollow parts inside of a vacuum chamber. It seems like an easy way to bring down the weight of a part even further.
CodeCube 8y ago
I'll admit that I'm not a scholar on the matter, so this may just be ignorance speaking ... but I wonder why all the soft robotics stuff that I see never seems to pair the soft/flexing actuators with any rigid components? I'm thinking of the analog to the human body (or animals) ... we have a skeleton, organized and connected via ligaments, and then our "actuators" (muscles) attach to that structure with tendons. Is there any existing research/samples/demos that mimic this structure?
- PhasmaFelis 8y ago
  A soft-robot gripper is perhaps more akin to an octopus tentacle than a human finger. Maybe the difference is that a skeleton is mainly needed to lift heavy weights against gravity, and all the soft-robot applications we've seen so far have involved light loads that an octopus could handle. Hmm, I wonder how well soft robotics could adapt to heavier loads. Even with skeletal components, grip/lift strength is limited by how much pneumatic pressure the silicon can take before bursting.
- burfog 8y ago
  The attachment points tend to fail. There is a solution, but it is difficult to make: have a gradual transition between hard and soft material.
- Groxx 8y ago
  One major reason I've seen is that soft actuators are complicated to use. You can't move things to a predictable location because they'll bounce, stretch as they age, and any weight changes (which applies all the time to all double+-jointed things, as e.g. straightening your elbow increases the force needed at your shoulder) change all of the above. The continuous feedback needed to counteract this is expensive and imperfect (as are we). Existing servos / stepper motors / etc obviously do this too, but usually to a much smaller and more predictable degree. Obviously it still has uses, e.g. as a grasper at the end of a normal robot for a softer grip. But making a whole robot out of it is still largely insane, unless you have esoteric needs. Hence ongoing research, but not application :)
  - 8y ago
londons_explore 8y ago
The gel printing method looks very promising for printing other 3d objects. Current systems require support material or special designs without overhangs. The gel approach seems better in nearly all respects.
pontifier 8y ago
I'm quite impressed by this. The integrity of the parts seems quite good. I've filed a patent on some 3d printing methods similar to this, but with a focus on ultra quick printing. Once people understand how fast these things could actually work, many things will change.
mnemotronic 8y ago
The next generation of printing money: A 3D printed silicone version of this: https://www.simplipleasure.com/products/tenga-flip-hole-masturbator https://www.simplipleasure.com/products/tenga-flip-hole-mast...

95 points by beardicus 8y ago

This is a project coming from the self-assembly lab, which has a number of interesting things brewing: https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/ https://selfassemblylab.mit.edu/

mpolichette 8y ago

So, this is the start of westworld?

DonHopkins 8y ago
Or Alien! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrf0cH4o_g4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrf0cH4o_g4

fallat 8y ago

I will pay for the first printed seat cushion. I expect such a cushion to be pretty cheap based on the paper detailing the materials used.

gene-h 8y ago
The materials may be cheap, but the printer's time probably will not be.
deckar01 8y ago
Machine time and operator time are about 20x more expensive than material cost when I quote 3D print requests.
bsder 8y ago
You could probably get this from Carbon3D right now: Caution: Marketing articles https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/06/technology/adidas-speedfactory/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/06/technology/adidas-speedfact... https://www.carbon3d.com/stories/adidas/ https://www.carbon3d.com/stories/adidas/

blorenz 8y ago

This is going to disrupt balloon artistry!

jewelthief91 8y ago

I want someone to 3D print hollow parts inside of a vacuum chamber. It seems like an easy way to bring down the weight of a part even further.

CodeCube 8y ago

I'll admit that I'm not a scholar on the matter, so this may just be ignorance speaking ... but I wonder why all the soft robotics stuff that I see never seems to pair the soft/flexing actuators with any rigid components? I'm thinking of the analog to the human body (or animals) ... we have a skeleton, organized and connected via ligaments, and then our "actuators" (muscles) attach to that structure with tendons. Is there any existing research/samples/demos that mimic this structure?

PhasmaFelis 8y ago
A soft-robot gripper is perhaps more akin to an octopus tentacle than a human finger. Maybe the difference is that a skeleton is mainly needed to lift heavy weights against gravity, and all the soft-robot applications we've seen so far have involved light loads that an octopus could handle. Hmm, I wonder how well soft robotics could adapt to heavier loads. Even with skeletal components, grip/lift strength is limited by how much pneumatic pressure the silicon can take before bursting.
burfog 8y ago
The attachment points tend to fail. There is a solution, but it is difficult to make: have a gradual transition between hard and soft material.
Groxx 8y ago
One major reason I've seen is that soft actuators are complicated to use. You can't move things to a predictable location because they'll bounce, stretch as they age, and any weight changes (which applies all the time to all double+-jointed things, as e.g. straightening your elbow increases the force needed at your shoulder) change all of the above. The continuous feedback needed to counteract this is expensive and imperfect (as are we). Existing servos / stepper motors / etc obviously do this too, but usually to a much smaller and more predictable degree. Obviously it still has uses, e.g. as a grasper at the end of a normal robot for a softer grip. But making a whole robot out of it is still largely insane, unless you have esoteric needs. Hence ongoing research, but not application :)
- 8y ago

londons_explore 8y ago

The gel printing method looks very promising for printing other 3d objects. Current systems require support material or special designs without overhangs. The gel approach seems better in nearly all respects.

pontifier 8y ago

I'm quite impressed by this. The integrity of the parts seems quite good. I've filed a patent on some 3d printing methods similar to this, but with a focus on ultra quick printing. Once people understand how fast these things could actually work, many things will change.

mnemotronic 8y ago

The next generation of printing money: A 3D printed silicone version of this: https://www.simplipleasure.com/products/tenga-flip-hole-masturbator https://www.simplipleasure.com/products/tenga-flip-hole-mast...