Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Characterization Of Hydrogel Curing Methods For Manufacturability, Hannah E. Brown, Rebecca K. Kramer, Edward L. White

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In the field of soft robotics, hydrogels possess material properties that allow them to function as both soft strain sensors and dielectric elastomer actuators. However, there is still much that needs to be understood about the curing process of hydrogels and the resulting material characteristics before manufacturing these devices can be accomplished. In this study, we investigated the effect of curing time and sample volume on the as-cured material properties of acrylamide-based hydrogels hydrated with lithium and magnesium chloride salt solutions. Samples were cured at room temperature, 60° C and 100° C, and the resulting changes in mechanical stiffness and …

Design Of A Small Scale Roll To Roll Device, Amon A. Pereira, Edward White, Rebecca Krone Kramer

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In the soft robotics field, hyperelastic polymer films are used in conjunction with eutectic gallium indium to create flexible strain gages. However, rapid large scale manufacturing methods of such sensors have yet to be developed.

Developing new manufacturing methods will allow for researchers to build and test new soft sensor concepts faster but also pave the way for future mass-production of these sensors for consumer or industrial consumption.

One of those methods would be a Roll to Roll System (R2R) similar to those used to in the publication industry. In this context, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film rolls will be used …