A Study and Fabrication of SMA based 3D Printed Adaptive Gripper

This paper presents a shape memory alloy (SMA) based gripper and its performance analysis. With the increase in technological advancement, different smart materials have been developed. The SMA materials are actuated by heat and having high force/weight ratio. Due to its resistivity properties, it gets heated when electricity passes through the SMA wire. It shows the structure and shape changes due to its phase transformation when it is exposed to heat. There are products in which these systems are used in many fields such as aviation, industrial, medical, etc. The scope of this study is to develop a prototype of a gripper as an end-effector to pick up or grabs the object for robotic and automation applications with the use of SMA's material. It is an alternative to a traditional actuator-based system. The present gripper designed in such a way that it controls actuation and improve the force per weight, force per power-consumption ratio, and cycle time. It has been noticed that the SMA-based actuator may act as an advanced solution for different applications.