115 research outputs found
Freeform Fabrication of Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Electromechanical Devices
In pursuit of the goal of producing complete electromechanical systems entirely via solid freeform fabrication, we are
developing a library of mutually compatible, functional, freeform elements. Several essential elements â actuation, sensing,
and control electronics - still remain to be incorporated into this library. Conducting polymers (CP) are a class of materials
which can be used to produce all of these functionalities. Meanwhile, research into actuatable âsmartâ materials has
produced other candidate materials for freeform fabricated actuators that are compatible with our library. We have
succeeded in manually producing air-operable actuators that have processing and operating requirements that are
compatible with our power source and mechanical component library elements. A survey of candidate actuator materials is
presented, experiments performed with two types of actuator materials are described, and complete SFF-producible actuator
devices are demonstrated.Mechanical Engineerin
Freeform Fabrication of Ionomeric Polymer-Metal Composite Actuators
Ionomeric polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators are a type of soft electromechanically active material which offers
large displacement, rapid motion with only ~1V stimulus. IPMCâs are entering commercial applications in toys (Ashley
2003) and biomedical devices (Soltanpour 2001; Shahinpoor 2002; Shahinpoor, Shahinpoor et al. 2003; Soltanpour and
Shahinpoor 2003; Soltanpour and Shahinpoor 2004), but unfortunately they can only actuate by bending, limiting their
utility. Freeform fabrication offers a possible means of producing IPMC with novel geometry and/or tightly integrated with
mechanisms which can yield linear or more complex motion. We have developed materials and processes which allow us to
freeform fabricate complete IPMC actuators and their fabrication substrate which will allow integration within other
freeform fabricated devices. We have produced simple IPMCâs using our multiple material freeform fabrication system, and
have demonstrated operation in air for more than 40 minutes and 256 bidirectional actuation cycles. The output stress scaled
to input power is two orders of magnitude inferior to that of the best reported performance for devices produced in the
traditional manner, but only slightly inferior to devices produced in a more similar manner. Possible explanations and paths
to improvement are presented. Freeform fabrication of complete electroactive polymer actuators in unusual geometries,
with tailored actuation behavior, and integrated with other freeform fabricated active components, will enable advances in
biomedical device engineering, biologically inspired robotics, and other fields. This work constitutes the first
demonstration of complete, functional, IPMC actuators produced entirely by freeform fabrication.Mechanical Engineerin
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Application of Machine Learning Methods to the Open-Loop Control of a Freeform Fabrication System
Freeform fabrication of complete functional devices requires the fabrication system to achieve well-controlled
deposition of many materials with widely varying material properties. In a research setting, material preparation
processes are not highly refined, causing batch property variation, and cost and time may prohibit accurate
quantification of the relevant material properties, such as viscosity, elasticity, etc. for each batch. Closed-loop
control based on the deposited material road is problematic due to the difficulty in non-contact measurement of the
road geometry, so a labor-intensive calibration and open-loop control method is typically used. In the present work,
k-Nearest Neighbor and Support Vector Machine (SVM) machine learning algorithms are applied to the problem of
generating open-loop control parameters which produce desired deposited material road geometry from a description
of a given material and tool configuration comprising a set of qualitative and quantitative attributes. Training data
for the algorithms is generated in the course of ordinary use of the SFF system as the results of manual calibration of
control parameters. Given the large instance space and the small training data set compiled thus far, the
performance is quite promising, although still insufficient to allow complete automation of the calibration process.
The SVM-based approach produces tolerable results when tested with materials not in the training data set. When
control parameters produced by the learning algorithms are used as a starting point for manual calibration,
significant operator time savings and material waste reduction may be achieved.Mechanical Engineerin
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Printing Embedded Circuits
Automated manufacturing technologies such as freeform fabrication can greatly
reduce the cost and complexity of infrastructure required to manufacture unique devices
or invent new technologies. Multi-material freeform fabrication processes under
development have the potential to automatically build complete functional devices
including electronics. Making this technology available to creative individuals will
revolutionize art and invention, but requires extensive simplification and cost reduction
of what is still a laboratory technology. The combination of a Fab@Home Model 1
personal fabrication system and commercially available materials allows the
demonstration of simple and inexpensive freeform fabrication of functional embedded
electrical circuits, and useful devices. Using this approach, we have been able to
demonstrate an LED flashlight, functional printed circuit boards in 2-dimensions and 3-
dimensions that are actually entirely printed, and a childâs toy with embedded circuitry.
These results, and the materials and methods involved in producing them will be
presented in detail.Mechanical Engineerin
Popular Music and Art-interpretive Injustice
It has been over two decades since Miranda Fricker labeled epistemic injustice, in which an agent is wronged in their capacity as a knower. The philosophical literature has proliferated with variants and related concepts. By considering cases in popular music, we argue that it is worth distinguishing a parallel phenomenon of art-interpretive injustice, in which an agent is wronged in their creative capacity as a possible artist. In section 1, we consider the prosecutorial use of rap lyrics in court as a central case of this injustice. In section 2, we distinguish art-interpretive injustice from other categories already discussed in recent literature. In section 3, we discuss the relationship between genre discourse and identity prejudice. The case for recognizing the category of art-interpretive injustice is that it allows one to recognize a class of harms as being importantly related in ways that one would otherwise overlook
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Printing Food
This paper examines the possible applications of food as a raw
material in freeform fabrication, and provides several demonstrations of
edible three-dimensional objects. The use of edible materials offers several
advantages: First, it opens the door to the application of SFF technology in
custom food industry, such as manufacturing of complex confections with
specialized geometries and intricate material compositions. For
pedagogical purposes, edible materials provide an easily accessible, nontoxic and low cost way to experiment with rapid prototyping techniques
using educational systems such as Fab@Home. For more traditional SFF
technologies, food materials with appropriate rheological properties can
serve as sacrificial, bio-degradable, bio-compatible or recyclable materials
for structural support and draft-printing. We have used the Fab@Home
personal fabrication system to produce multi-material edible 3D objects
with cake frosting, chocolate, processed cheese, and peanut butter. These
are just indicative of the range of potential edible materials and
applications.Mechanical Engineerin
Modal Insurance: Probabilities, Risk, and Degrees of Luck
Many widely divergent accounts of luck have been offered or employed in discussing an equally wide range of philosophical topics. We should, then, expect to find some unified philosophical conception of luck of which moral luck, epistemic luck, and luck egalitarianism are species. One of the attempts to provide such an account is that offered by Duncan Pritchard, which he refers to as the modal account. This view commits us to calling an event lucky when it obtains in this world, but fails to obtain in a wide class of nearby possible worlds. In support of this account, Pritchard argues that a theory of luck ought to capture the fact that luck comes in degrees and that luck is closely associated with risk. I argue against this claim by suggesting that an understanding of luck grounded in considerations of probability is better able to satisfy these demands, and that the probability theory better explains exemplary cases of luck like those brought up by Pritchard
On the Oddly Satisfying
In this paper, I propose a novel theory for why we find certain mundane everyday experiences, objects, and phenomena satisfying aesthetic experiences. I refer to these as 'oddly satisfying' experiences, and argue that they assert themselves as aesthetic by being suggestive of the cinematic. This cinematic quality is the product of everyday experiences gesturing towards a kind of careful artistic intent
Country Music and the Problem of Authenticity
In the small but growing literature on the philosophy of country music, the question of how we ought to understand the genreâs notion of authenticity has emerged as one of the central questions. Many country music scholars argue that authenticity claims track attributions of cultural standing or artistic self-expression. However, careful attention to the history of the genre reveals that these claims are simply factually wrong. On the basis of this, we have grounds for dismissing these attributions. Here, I argue for an alternative model of authenticity in which we take claims about the relative authenticity of country music to be evidence of âcountryâ being a dual character concept in the same way that it has been suggested of punk rock and hip-hop. Authentic country music is country music that embodies the core value commitments of the genre. These values form the basis of country artistsâ and audiencesâ practical identities. Part of country musicâs aesthetic practice is that audiences reconnect with, reify, and revise this common practical identity through identification with artists and works that manifest these values. We should then think of authenticity discourse within country music as a kind of game within the genreâs practice of shaping and maintaining this practical identity
The Problem of Genre Explosion
Genre discourse is widespread in appreciative practice, whether that is about hip-hop music, romance novels, or film noir. It should be no surprise then, that philosophers of art have also been interested in genres. Whether they are giving accounts of genres as such or of particular genres, genre talk abounds in philosophy as much as it does the popular discourse. As a result, theories of genre proliferate as well. However, in their accounts, philosophers have so far focused on capturing all of the categories of art that we think of as genres and have focused less on ensuring that only the categories we think are genres are captured by those theories. Each of these theories populates the world with far too many genres because they call a wide class of mere categories of art genres. I call this the problem of genre explosion. In this paper, I survey the existing accounts of genre and describe the kinds of considerations they employ in determining whether a work is a work of a given genre. After this, I demonstrate the ways in which the problem of genre explosion arises for all of these theories and discuss some solutions those theories could adopt that will ultimately not work. Finally, I argue that the problem of genre explosion is best solved by adopting a social view of genres, which can capture the difference between genres and mere categories of art
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