Cost-Efficient Open Source Desktop Size Radial Stretching System With Force Sensor

Abstract

The rapid and efficient development of soft active materials requires readily available, compact testing equipment. We propose a desktop-sized, cost-efficient, and open source radial stretching system as an alternative to commercially available biaxial and uniaxial stretching devices. It allows for doubling the diameter of an elastomer membrane while measuring the applied force. Our development enables significant cost reduction ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$&lt;300$ </tex-math></inline-formula> €) and increase the availability of equibiaxial deformation measurements for scientific material analysis. Construction plans, source code, and electronic circuit diagrams are freely available under a creative commons license.