Scientists 3D print a robot that walks away when complete
You know what’s cooler than printing robot parts on a 3D printer? Printing the whole freaking robot.
Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory figured out how to hack a Stratasys 3D printer so that it not only prints the hard and flexible materials necessary for mobile robots, but also simultaneously adds in fluid to create working hydraulics, giving them the ability to print an entire, working hydraulic-actuated robot in one 3D print pass.
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The robot can even get up and walk away from the printer, after an external motor and battery is added.
The scientists' work on the walking and slightly creepy hexapod robot (and other 3D printed hydraulics) is detailed in a new paper just submitted to IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. It describes how they hacked a 3D printer to accept fluid as a working material by replacing a built-in RFID chip for what is basically the printer’s cleaning fluid with a chip that identifies the liquid as a printable material.
The Stratasys Objet260 Connex printer they used typically prints a gel that hardens when exposed to a special UV light. Since the cleaning fluid is unaffected by the UV light, it could be deposited by the print head inside the printed hydraulic chambers as they were printed. In this way, the printer could produce a fully functioning hydraulic component in one pass. The printer was also able to simultaneously print material of various hardness to give the robot both the rigidity (for the body frame) and flexibility (for the hydraulic bellows) it needs to function.
According to the paper, robots printed using this method do not need assembly or even the introduction of fluid-post production. As a result, there was no need to purge air bubbles from the hydraulic chambers, which could be printed can be completely sealed. Hydraulics work by using pressure and a fully sealed system should be stronger and more efficient than one assembled by hand.
Using this same 3D printing methodology, the researchers were able to 3D print a gear-pump (in one print pass), and soft, flexible grippers.
There are still some challenges to work through as the paper notes that this printing technique sacrifices strength, lifetime fatigue and even the overall resolution of parts. Even so, the ability to print a robot with working hydraulics in one pass is a notable accomplishment with many long-range implications in everything from disposable robotics to industrial manufacturing.
Plus, who wouldn't want a robot with no assembly required?
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Topics 3D Printing
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
