Design of a miniature manipulator actuated by antagonistic shape memory alloys | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Design of a miniature manipulator actuated by antagonistic shape memory alloys


Abstract:

This paper presents a miniature manipulator that can provide rotations along two perpendicularly intersecting axes. Each axis is actuated by a pair of shape memory alloy ...Show More

Abstract:

This paper presents a miniature manipulator that can provide rotations along two perpendicularly intersecting axes. Each axis is actuated by a pair of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires. SMA wire actuators are known for their large energy density and ease of actuation. These advantages make them ideal for applications that have stringent size and weight constraints. SMA actuators can be temperature-controlled to contract and relax like muscles. When correctly designed, antagonistic SMA actuators have faster response and larger range of motion than bias-type SMA actuators. This paper proposes an antagonistic actuation model to determine the manipulator parameters that are required to generate sufficient workspace. Effects of SMA prestrain and spring stiffness on the manipulator are investigated. Taking advantage of proper prestrain, the actuator size can be made much smaller while maintaining the same motion. Finally, a prototype is presented with experiments to demonstrate the performance of the manipulator.
Date of Conference: 09-12 July 2013
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 22 August 2013
ISBN Information:

ISSN Information:

Conference Location: Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Contact IEEE to Subscribe

References

References is not available for this document.