Dämmer Gabriel, Bauer Hartmut, Lackner Michael, Neumann Rüdiger, Hildebrandt Alexander, Major Zoltán
Institute of Polymer Product Engineering, Johannes Kepler University Linz, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Advanced Development Control and Robotics, Festo SE & Co. KG, 73734 Esslingen, Germany.
Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Aug 17;14(8):1622. doi: 10.3390/mi14081622.
Despite an emerging interest in soft and rigid pneumatic lightweight robots, the pneumatic rotary actuators available to date either are unsuitable for servo pneumatic applications or provide a limited angular range. This study describes the functional principle, design, and manufacturing of a servo pneumatic rotary actuator that is suitable for continuous rotary motion and positioning. It contains nine radially arranged linear bellows actuators with rollers that push forward a cam profile. Proportional valves and a rotary encoder are used to control the bellows pressures in relation to the rotation angle. Introducing freely programmable servo pneumatic commutation increases versatility and allows the number of mechanical components to be reduced in comparison to state-of-the-art designs. The actuator presented is designed to be manufacturable using a combination of standard components, selective laser sintering, elastomer molding with novel multi-part cores and basic tools. Having a diameter of 110 mm and a width of 41 mm, our prototype weighs less than 500 g, produces a torque of 0.53 Nm at 1 bar pressure and a static positioning accuracy of 0.31° with no limit of angular motion. By providing a description of design, basic kinematic equations, manufacturing techniques, and a proof of concept, we enable the reader to envision and explore future applications.
尽管人们对软性和刚性气动轻型机器人的兴趣日益浓厚，但迄今为止可用的气动旋转执行器要么不适用于伺服气动应用，要么提供的角度范围有限。本研究描述了一种适用于连续旋转运动和定位的伺服气动旋转执行器的工作原理、设计和制造。它包含九个径向排列的线性波纹管执行器，这些执行器带有滚轮，可向前推动凸轮轮廓。比例阀和旋转编码器用于根据旋转角度控制波纹管压力。与现有设计相比，引入可自由编程的伺服气动换向增加了通用性，并减少了机械部件的数量。所展示的执行器设计为可使用标准部件、选择性激光烧结、采用新型多部件型芯的弹性体成型和基本工具进行制造。我们的原型直径为110毫米，宽度为41毫米，重量不到500克，在1巴压力下产生0.53牛米的扭矩，静态定位精度为0.31°，且角度运动无限制。通过提供设计描述、基本运动学方程、制造技术和概念验证，我们使读者能够设想和探索未来的应用。
