Weld n'Cut: Automated fabrication of inflatable fabric actuators
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909486054113280 |
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| author | Goshtasbi, Arman Seyidoğlu, Burcu Babu, Saravana Prashanth Murali Parvaresh, Aida Do, Cao Danh Rafsanjani, Ahmad |
| author_facet | Goshtasbi, Arman Seyidoğlu, Burcu Babu, Saravana Prashanth Murali Parvaresh, Aida Do, Cao Danh Rafsanjani, Ahmad |
| contents | Lightweight, durable textile-based inflatable soft actuators are widely used in soft robotics, particularly for wearable robots in rehabilitation and in enhancing human performance in demanding jobs. Fabricating these actuators typically involves multiple steps: heat-sealable fabrics are fused with a heat press, and non-stick masking layers define internal chambers. These layers must be carefully removed post-fabrication, often making the process labor-intensive and prone to errors. To address these challenges and improve the accuracy and performance of inflatable actuators, we introduce the Weld n'Cut platform-an open-source, automated manufacturing process that combines ultrasonic welding for fusing textile layers with an oscillating knife for precise cuts, enabling the creation of complex inflatable structures. We demonstrate the machine's performance across various materials and designs with arbitrarily complex geometries. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_06361 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Weld n'Cut: Automated fabrication of inflatable fabric actuators Goshtasbi, Arman Seyidoğlu, Burcu Babu, Saravana Prashanth Murali Parvaresh, Aida Do, Cao Danh Rafsanjani, Ahmad Robotics Lightweight, durable textile-based inflatable soft actuators are widely used in soft robotics, particularly for wearable robots in rehabilitation and in enhancing human performance in demanding jobs. Fabricating these actuators typically involves multiple steps: heat-sealable fabrics are fused with a heat press, and non-stick masking layers define internal chambers. These layers must be carefully removed post-fabrication, often making the process labor-intensive and prone to errors. To address these challenges and improve the accuracy and performance of inflatable actuators, we introduce the Weld n'Cut platform-an open-source, automated manufacturing process that combines ultrasonic welding for fusing textile layers with an oscillating knife for precise cuts, enabling the creation of complex inflatable structures. We demonstrate the machine's performance across various materials and designs with arbitrarily complex geometries. |
| title | Weld n'Cut: Automated fabrication of inflatable fabric actuators |
| topic | Robotics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06361 |