Fabrication and reliable implementation of an ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) biaxial bending actuator

Abstract

Ionic polymer?metal composites (IPMCs) are one of the most popular types of electro-active polymer actuator, due to their low electric driving potential, large deformation range, and light weight. IPMCs have been used as actuators or sensors in many areas of biomedical and robotic engineering. In this research, IPMCs were studied as a biaxial bending actuator capable of smart and flexible motion. We designed and fabricated this bending actuator and implemented it to have a reliable actuating motion using a systematic approach. The resulting device was bar shaped with a square cross section and had four insulated electrodes on its surface. By applying different voltages to these four electrodes, a biaxial bending motion can be induced. To construct this actuator, several fabrication processes were considered. We modified the Nafion stacking method, and established a complete sequence of actuator fabrication processes. Using these processes, we were able to fabricate an IPMC biaxial bending actuator with both high actuating force and high flexibility. Several experiments were conducted to investigate and verify the performance of the actuator. The IPMC actuator system was modeled from experimentally measured data, and using this actuator model, a closed-loop proportional integral (PI) controller was designed. Reference position tracking performances of open-loop and closed-loop systems were compared. Finally, circular motion tracking performances of the actuator tip were tested under different rotation frequencies and radii of a reference trajectory circle.