Release date: 2016-11-15

Earlier this month, the School of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology held a unique science exhibition featuring the research and development of the students of the institute. Among them, one team developed the UltiCast, a technology that can cast silicone in a 3D printed casing. Some people think that this cheap new technology can be applied to the development of software for robotics.

Max Novel, a research and development member of the project, said: "It is a fusion of die casting technology and 3D printing technology. It can simultaneously fill two plastic shells of silicone, which is made of a layer of water-soluble plastic (PVA). Composition.” During the show, the team used the Ultimaker 3D printer, but they have already rebuilt it.

The use of UltiCast technology makes traditional direct drive 3D printers less involved in printing more complex shapes. Be aware that if the quality of the mold is high, the surface quality of the flexible silicon will be very high. However, traditional melt deposition techniques are difficult to do because each time we add a layer to the hot filament, the previous layer is deformed.

Software robot technology

UltiCast technology will find a new way for the development of software robots. For example, we can “print” a soft actuator in a grinding tool, so that humans do not need to participate in the process of manual casting. In this regard, Dr. Rob Scharff, PhD, of the Software Robotics Research team, said: "You can use different geometric principles and materials to customize the robot behavior."

Yes, customization is a major trend in the development of mechanical intelligence. “That is, every movement of the robot follows your mind.” For example, you can have a robot with flexible fingers to have enough strength to pick up a piece of vegetables. “With 3D printing technology, you can create a highly adaptable gripping robot.” In addition, it can be mixed with other hard materials, as demonstrated by another R&D team – to create exoskeletons in silicone. “You can use a variety of different materials in the printing process. They will produce more complex materials.”

This new technology is also very cheap: the cost of other complex composite 3D printing systems is around 300,000 euros, and the students at Delft University of Technology spent only 3,000 euros at the initial stage, equivalent to the market price. 1/1000.

Medical industry

In the field of software robots, cheap 3D printing technology can be applied in a variety of different fields to play an important role. In the medical field, it can also make a difference, especially in the area of ​​rehabilitation assistance. The research team said: "Reducing the price of rehabilitation and assistive devices is one of our goals. In the long run, software robots can play a crucial role in this process."

Therefore, they created a pair of 3D printed gloves. This pair of gloves has a software robotic actuator that has the ability to move fingers to assist people who suffer from arthritis, local paralysis, and hand dysfunction, or to support rehabilitation. The goal of this team is not to build finished products, but to prove that 3D printing technology can promote the development of software robotics.

Digital manufacturing

“The application of 3D printing technology is very broad, and software robot is one of the directions, and it is one of the areas we have been investing heavily.” Project coordinator Jouke Verlinden said, “It can help you to do some traditional robotics. Things that can't be done."

In addition, at this scientific exhibition, many of the projects that participated in the exhibition seemed to have nothing to do with robotics at first glance, while other research results made people want to exclaim: "This is a robot!" But, please The officer should not be misled! In fact, they are all products of digital manufacturing. For example, Project Michelangelo is obviously a robot, but in fact Hololens at the museum is also inextricably linked to robotics. Both of these projects are related to image recognition, and the algorithms involved are the same as robotic vision techniques.

Source: Lei Feng Net

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