Design and Analysis of a Fibre-Shaped Micro-Actuator for Robotic Gripping

A prototype of an automatic micropositioning system was developed. This prototype uses a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator, a dedicated PI controller and a piece of software to command a desired motion profile for the actuator. The proposed micropositioning system is characterized by a 4 mm stroke, a 1 μm resolution and a 70 g nominal force and can be commanded directly from a personal computer and without human retroaction. The closed loop positioning resolution (1 μm) is obtained in spite of inaccurate system behaviour during its movement

Experimental analysis of an innovative NiTi Wires Activated Pneumatic Valve to study and improve performances

The paper deals with the design and the experimental analysis of an innovative pneumatic valve activated by NiTi wires, materials which belong to the so called Shape Memory Alloys (SMA). The novelty of the hereby illustrated valve concerns with the activation device, the shape and the body in polymeric material. As a consequence, the proposed device shows the following advantages: the easier assembly, the compactness, the silently functioning, the bio-compatibility, the low power activation and the production cheapness. The static and dynamic characterization of the valve has been performed through a dedicated test bench and a wide range of tests on the valve