Inverted Honeycomb Cell as a Reinforcement Structure for Building Soft Pneumatic Linear Actuators

Abstract

In this article, the inverted honeycomb cell, known to exhibit an auxetic behavior, is considered to design two pneumatic linear actuators. The actuators are built using a combination of soft and rigid structures. They present complementary performances in terms of displacement, force, and stiffness. Experimental evaluations are conducted using prototypes produced using multimaterial additive manufacturing to combine soft and rigid materials with freedom of shape. The first actuator is inspired by origami structures. The possibility to obtain large deformations under low pressure is observed. The second actuator is based on a cylindrical auxetic structure based on the inverted honeycomb cell. Smaller deformation is reached but the design favors the off-axis stiffness, so the component can be integrated without any additional mechanical joint for translation. A discussion on the relative performances of these two actuators and their possible uses conclude the paper.