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3D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers: Embedding Nichrome-Wires to Enhance Their Performance

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Selected Topics in Manufacturing

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) has recently gained popularity in the 3D printing field: the possibility to 3D print polymers capable to change their shape when triggered by a certain temperature, can lead to the fabrication of programmable structures. So far, the usage of solutions such as oven and warm water have been used to activate SMP, resulting in a lack of feasibility and difficult to be employed in real-life scenarios. In the present paper the authors propose a method to embed electrical nichrome-wires inside the 3D printed SMP during the fabrication process, in order to make the activation step easier, more feasible and faster. Several motions were reached when the 3D printed SMPs were activated, resulting appealing for the fabrication of soft robots. Moreover, complex structures made up of SMP material and flexible joint were also manufactured, proving that the proposed manufacturing method can be used to fabricate grippers and walking soft robots.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Polytechnic of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125, Bari, Italy

    Gianni Stano, Antonio Pavone & Gianluca Percoco

  2. Interdisciplinary Additive Manufacturing (IAM) Lab, Polytechnic University of Bari, Viale del Turismo 8, 74100, Taranto, Italy

    Gianni Stano, Antonio Pavone & Gianluca Percoco

Authors
  1. Gianni Stano
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  2. Antonio Pavone
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  3. Gianluca Percoco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Pavone .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DICMaPI, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy

    Luigi Carrino

  2. DMMM, Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy

    Luigi Maria Galantucci

  3. DIGEP, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Luca Settineri

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Stano, G., Pavone, A., Percoco, G. (2024). 3D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers: Embedding Nichrome-Wires to Enhance Their Performance. In: Carrino, L., Galantucci, L.M., Settineri, L. (eds) Selected Topics in Manufacturing. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41163-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41163-2_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-41162-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-41163-2

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