Manufacturing Process for Multilayer Dielectric Elastomer Transducers Based on Sheet-to-Sheet Lamination and Contactless Electrode Application

Physicalization helps the user understand complex data intuitively. Especially when confronted with complex, multidimensional datasets as in the smart home environment, classic graphical user interfaces struggle to visualize data in a way compatible with the paradigm of Calm Technology and new means of displaying data need to be explored, to decrease the cognitive burden on the user. Shape changing interfaces (SCI) using smart materials can change their appearance under electrical stimuli and provide the means to physicalize the data found in the smart home from sensors, appliances or others. Within the scope of this work, a smart display using dielectric elastomer unimorph actuators (UDEA) is developed, which can be used to explore how dielectric elastomers (DE) can be used for an SCI. A dynamic model of previous work has been adapted to the updated geometry. Reproducible production of the actuators is one focus of the current work. A novel sheet-to-sheet process for manufacturing multilayer DE-laminates is presented. Manual processing of the laminates to actuators is described and effects of human error on actuator performance in this process is assessed and found to be low to ensure reproducible fabrication. Finally the system design is presented and discussed. The developed display allows controlling 15 independent shape changing devices and will allow to gain more knowledge about physicalization of data using DE actuators.

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“…The actuators consist of multilayer DE laminates fabricated with a novel sheet-to-sheet process described in 14 and depicted in Fig. 3.…”

Section: Actuator Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic data physicalization by unimorph dielectric elastomer actuators

Gareis

Çabuk

Maas

2023

Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXV

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“…15,16 Applying the electrode layer and elastomer layer are the main technological steps for the manufacturing of DESs. The most common technologies are: spray coating through a shadow mask, 17 screen printing, 18 Aerosol-Jet-Printing, 16 ultrasonic spraying, 19 inkjet printing, 20 Doctor Blade 21 and using a jetting system. 17 Although each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, we have chosen Doctor Blade as the preferred method in this study due to its ease of use, low cost and short time required to apply the electrode layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common technologies are: spray coating through a shadow mask, 17 screen printing, 18 Aerosol-Jet-Printing, 16 ultrasonic spraying, 19 inkjet printing, 20 Doctor Blade 21 and using a jetting system. 17 Although each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, we have chosen Doctor Blade as the preferred method in this study due to its ease of use, low cost and short time required to apply the electrode layer. Doctor Blade is a well-known method for creating thin layers on a variety of substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of manufacturing parameters on the quality of electrodes of a multi-layer capacitive strain sensor based on dielectric elastomers

Prokopchuk

Ewert

Menning

et al. 2023

Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems XVII

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Since the significant growth of interest in soft robotics, artificial muscles and biomimetics, soft, capacitive dielectric elastomer sensors (DES) have been in the focus of development. However, when including a sensor into any device, tool or, for example, a machine element, there are several factors which have to be considered, e.g., the ease of embedding the sensor, the maintenance of the functionality of the machine element, as well as the quality of the embedded sensors and their reproducibility. In this work, we will focus on the quality of the sensor and present a procedure for manufacturing multi-layer capacitive strain sensors. In order to assess the influence of different manufacturing processes on the quality of capacitive DES, a variety of thin multi-layer sensors were fabricated. Furthermore, using an LCR meter, the equivalent electrical capacitances (C) at the two sensor contacts were measured. It is shown that C varies depending on the quality of the electrodes. By testing multi-layer DES (ML-DES) with an electrode diameter of d electrode = 3 mm, with three and four electrode layers, a maximum capacitance of C 0 = 6.7 pF and C 0 = 10.5 pF was achieved for the undeformed sensor, respectively. The obtained capacitance values show that following the presented recommendations for creation the electrodes enables to improve the reproducibility and quality of the manufactured ML-DES. The fabricated sensor is soft and deformable due to the compliance of the elastomeric film used. Such a capacitive ML-DES can be used, for example, as a soft strain sensor implemented into the elastic element of a jaw coupling.

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“…To fabricate the loudspeaker, the novel sheet-to-sheet process by Krüger et al [22] together with the electrode application process by Çabuk and Maas [23] is used. The frame is printed on a commercially available 3D printer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave field synthesis using buckling dielectric elastomer transducers

Gareis,

Maas

2023

Smart Mater. Struct.

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This work presents a wave field synthesis (WFS) system using a novel loudspeaker concept based on dielectric elastomers (DE). In WFS, large numbers of densely packed, individual audio channels are controlled to recreate arbitrary acoustic scenarios in the listener space, (i.e., listener zones in a room where different audio content can be radiated in different directions from the array, as seen in the supplemental material). Spatial resolution of the system increases with the increasing number of audio channels and with decreasing loudspeaker spacing. This motivates the use of buckling dielectric elastomer transducers (BDET) as loudspeakers, which feature a simple setup, rendering them extremely thin and lightweight, and which promises ease of manufacture through the low demand on resources. In this work, a WFS system featuring 480 BDET has been developed. The prototype includes software, electronics, and the loudspeaker array. The electronical and mechanical design of the system is presented in detail. A nonlinear model based on the third-order shear deformation theory is applied to the BDET; the BDET is then experimentally assessed and compared to the model. Further, the final loudspeaker array is characterized by a directivity measurement in an anechoic room to validate the reproducibility and quality of the setup. The presented technology highlights the structural advantages of smart materials over conventional transducers, which often are too large, heavy, and expensive for such array applications.

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Manufacturing Process for Multilayer Dielectric Elastomer Transducers Based on Sheet-to-Sheet Lamination and Contactless Electrode Application

Cited by 10 publications

References 29 publications

Dynamic data physicalization by unimorph dielectric elastomer actuators

Dynamic data physicalization by unimorph dielectric elastomer actuators

Influence of manufacturing parameters on the quality of electrodes of a multi-layer capacitive strain sensor based on dielectric elastomers

Wave field synthesis using buckling dielectric elastomer transducers

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