One-Step Printing for Hydraulic Robots

Apr-11-16 MIT researchers have developed a method for printing solid and liquid materials at the same time, opening the door to new robotics manufacturing techniques.

The method, which the team is calling ‘printable hydraulics,’ overcomes the difficulty of printing liquids by using an inkjet printer that deposits layers of material in tiny droplets less than half the width of a human hair. The eight-headed printer builds layers from the bottom up, curing the materials that are meant to be solidified in the process.

Using the printable hydraulics method, the team was able to build a bellows-equipped robot in one step. The robot propels itself by turning fluid pressure in the bellows into a mechanical force. According to CSAIL Director Daniela Rus, the project’s co-author, “All you have to do is stick in a battery and motor, and you have a robot that can practically walk right out of the printer.”

More Info about this Invention:

[MIT.EDU]
[GROUPS.CSAIL.MIT.EDU]

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