Inkjet Printer Technology Could Mass-Produce Wearable Robotics
Last Updated on August 14, 2023 by Christian Ralph
The technology found in your home or office inkjet printer could soon be used to print flexible and wearable robotics for advanced gaming and leisure activities.
Flexible liquid metal alloys could be attached to wearable items such as gloves, helping gamers interact with home computer systems.
The mechanical engineering team at Purdue University in the US are currently working on developing manufacturing techniques to create liquid alloys which can be printed directly from inkjet printers.
More interactive forms of computer game and software control are being heavily invested in by console and PC giants, desperate to implement more intuitive and involved control features into their best-selling titles. Current and upcoming technologies such as Microsoft Kinect and Playstation’s Project Morpheus virtual reality could seem crude in comparison to wearable liquid robotics.
Assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the university, Rebecca Kramer, explained: “We want to create stretchable electronics that might be compatible with soft machines, such as robots that need to squeeze through small spaces, or wearable technologies that aren’t restrictive of motion.
“Liquid metal in its native form is not inkjet-able. So what we do is create liquid metal nanoparticles that are small enough to pass through an inkjet nozzle. Sonicating liquid metal in a carrier solvent, such as ethanol, both creates the nanoparticles and disperses them in the solvent. Then we can print the ink onto any substrate. The ethanol evaporates away so we are just left with liquid metal nanoparticles on a surface.”
The new method will feature as a research paper in Advenced Materials journal on 18 April.
Research into developing printable liquid metal has been supported by the US’s National Science Foundation, which awarded Kramer an Early Career Development award earlier this year. Her research with other members of the team at the university could make it possible to mass produce large quantities of wearable robotic film from many standard inkjet printers.
After the liquid robotics are printed, the nanoparticles must be re-joined by applying light pressure, rendering the material conductive.
“It’s a fragile skin, so when you apply pressure it breaks the skin and everything coalesces into one uniform film,” Kramer said. “We can do this either by stamping or by dragging something across the surface, such as the sharp edge of a silicon tip.”
The research team are currently investigating how the individual particles react and rupture when pressure is applied both automatically and by hand. This can help them develop more ultrathin traces and new types of sensors.
Whether you are planning to be at the forefront of the liquid robotic printing industry, or just want a high quality printer for the home or office – visit Printerland’s comprehensive range of inkjet printers.
Image credit: Alex Bottiglio/Purdue University
