Page 34 - MSAM-3-3

Materials Science in

Additive Manufacturing

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
3D printing soft robots integrated with

low-melting-point alloys

Liuchao Jin 1,2,3 , Xiaoya Zhai 4 , Kang Zhang 1 , Jingchao Jiang * ,
5
and Wei-Hsin Liao *
1,6
1 Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, China
2 Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Soft Mechanics and Smart Manufacturing, Southern University of
Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
3 Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology,
Shenzhen, 518055, China
4 School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026,
China
5 Department of Engineering, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
6 Institute of Intelligent Design and Manufacturing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, China

Abstract
Soft robots are developed and applied in aspects such as grasping delicate objects.
Their inherent flexibility also enables applications that are unattainable by humans,
especially those in life-threatening environments. However, the object grasping
performed by most pneumatic soft robotics during transportation requires continuous
*Corresponding authors:
Jingchao Jiang external power/force, a highly energy-consuming process, particularly for long-distance
(j.jiang2@exeter.ac.uk) transportation. In this paper, we propose a low-melting-point alloy (LMPA)-integrated
Wei-Hsin Liao soft robot, manufactured by material extrusion additive manufacturing, requiring no
(whliao@cuhk.edu.hk)
power/force for holding objects during the moving process and thus presenting energy-
Citation: Jin L, Zhai X, Zhang K, saving characteristics. The working principles of the LMPA-integrated soft robot are as
Jiang J, Liao W. 3D printing
soft robots integrated with follows: (1) The LMPA is injected inside the soft robot using material extrusion. (2) The
low-melting-point alloys. Mater Sci LMPA is heated to above its melting temperature so that the soft robot can change its
Add Manuf. 2024;3(3):4144. shape. (3) At this stage, the soft robot is able to grasp an object. (4) While the soft robot
doi: 10.36922/msam.4144 is holding or grasping the object, the LMPA is cooled down to room temperature so that
Received: July 4, 2024 it turns into a solid state, and from this point onward, the soft robot can hold the object
Accepted: August 14, 2024 without relying on extra power for object grasping. (5) Once the soft robot arrives at
the destination, the LMPA will be melted again to change the shape of the soft robot
Published Online: September 4,
2024 for releasing the grip and/or getting ready for another object grasping. In summary,
this paper presents a case study of soft grippers, using 3D printing, specifically material
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). extrusion, for fabricating an LMPA-integrated soft robot.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, Keywords: Additive manufacturing; 3D printing; Soft robot; Soft gripper; Energy
and reproduction in any medium, consumption; Smart manufacturing
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Distinct from subtractive manufacturing and formative manufacturing methodologies,
affiliations. additive manufacturing (AM) encompasses a range of technologies commonly referred

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/msam.4144