Electro Active Polymers (EAP)

Advanced manufacturing of a novel actuation technology. Transducer with versatile high performance.

Actuators are mechanical components that allow the transformation of electrical energy into mechanical energy and enable a multipurpose and efficient operation.

Currently, conventional actuator systems have a complex mechanics that generate noise and vibrations, which can cause premature wear or disrupt other mechanical elements of the system. This complex and heavy construction also results in a large size which limits its integration in restricted environments. Furthermore, in the case of actuation and displacement measurement on the same side, additional sensor components are also required. The quality and thus the realistic simulation of feedback in combination with limited space available are difficult challenges for a switch. Finally, today's actuators consume a great amount of energy which results in high operating costs.

In the last decade, therefore, the interest into a new technology and "smart materials" has considerably increased.

This is why Datwyler and CTsystems have partnered up to distribute and industrialize the latter's new polymer transducer technology resulting in stacked polymer actuators which replace and outperform conventional actuation technologies, for use in various applications. Some of the improvements of the new technology include: low energy consumption, no complex mechanical parts, a robust and resilient design, and noise-free operation with sensing and haptic/tactile feedback functionalities.

A flexible solution for numerous applications.

Solution

The stacked design of the new multi-layer actuator allows high contraction movement and tension force capabilities.

The particular design of the dielectric elastomer used in the actuator, is based on a series of flexible capacitors electrically connected in parallel to alternating polarities of each layer. This new arrangement makes EAP technology suitable for a wider range of potential applications.

These elastomers have the particularity of being silent and generating no vibration. In addition, this new technology directly integrates sensing functionalities (no additional sensor components) which makes the actuator more compact. These two parameters make the integration of this new solution optimal in restricted and mechanically precise systems.

The same sensing functionalities are enhanced by offering short response time, adaptable amplitude shapes and a wide frequency range. This makes its use much more interesting for haptic/tactile human machine interfaces.

Finally, the energy consumption of the new actuator is significantly lower than those of conventional actuators, which therefore reduces the operating costs of the mechanical system that integrates them.