Optimizing 3D printing process parameters for high-performance inflatable soft actuators
RIFINO Rosanna, PRICCI Alessio, PERCOCO Gianluca
Abstract. Inflatable actuators have shown great potential in soft robotics; however, the usage of 3D printing technologies is still at its infancy phase. This paper focuses on the usage of Material Extrusion (MEX) to advance the fabrication of soft inflatable actuators and enhance performance. Two different designs were studied and the softest thermoplastic elastomer available on the market was used. Printing parameters (i.e., infill direction, ironing and extrusion temperature) were investigated to maximize the elongation and improve the intra-layer adhesion which is crucial to achieve air-tightness. A design of experiments approach was used to analyze the effect of each process parameter on mechanical properties. Additionally, hyperplastic simulations were performed and benchmarked with experimental results. The relationship process parameters- mechanical properties- performance is evaluated, laying the foundation for a broader usage of MEX for the fabrication of soft inflatable actuators.
Keywords
Material Extrusion, Tensile Strength, Polymers
Published online 9/10/2025, 12 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: RIFINO Rosanna, PRICCI Alessio, PERCOCO Gianluca, Optimizing 3D printing process parameters for high-performance inflatable soft actuators, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 57, pp 116-127, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903735-14
The article was published as article 14 of the book Italian Manufacturing Association Conference
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] El-Atab N, Mishra RB, Al-Modaf F, et al (2020) Soft Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications: A Review. Advanced Intelligent Systems 2:. https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202000128
[2] Xavier MS, Tawk CD, Zolfagharian A, et al (2022) Soft Pneumatic Actuators: A Review of Design, Fabrication, Modeling, Sensing, Control and Applications. IEEE Access 10:59442–59485
[3] Yap HK, Ng HY, Yeow CH (2016) High-Force Soft Printable Pneumatics for Soft Robotic Applications. Soft Robot 3:144–158. https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2016.0030
[4] Su H, Hou X, Zhang X, et al (2022) Pneumatic Soft Robots: Challenges and Benefits. Actuators 11
[5] Zhang YF, Ng CJX, Chen Z, et al (2019) Miniature Pneumatic Actuators for Soft Robots by High-Resolution Multimaterial 3D Printing. Adv Mater Technol 4:. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201900427
[6] Lalegani Dezaki M, Sales R, Zolfagharian A, et al (2023) Soft pneumatic actuators with integrated resistive sensors enabled by multi-material 3D printing. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 128:4207–4221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-12181-8
[7] Stavropoulos P, Foteinopoulos P (2018) Modelling of additive manufacturing processes: A review and classification. Manuf Rev (Les Ulis) 5:. https://doi.org/10.1051/mfreview/2017014
[8.Gul JZ, Sajid M, Rehman MM, et al (2018) 3D printing for soft robotics–a review. Sci Technol Adv Mater 19:243–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/14686996.2018.1431862
[9] Arleo L, Stano G, Percoco G, Cianchetti M (2021) I-support soft arm for assistance tasks: a new manufacturing approach based on 3D printing and characterization. Progress in Additive Manufacturing 6:243–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-020-00158-y
[10] Yao Y, Chen Y, He L, Maiolino P (2023) Design Optimization for Bellow Soft Pneumatic Actuators in Shape-Matching. In: 2023 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2023. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
[11] Tawk C, Alici G (2022) 5 – 4D-printed pneumatic soft actuators modeling, fabrication, and control. In: Bodaghi M, Zolfagharian A (eds) Smart Materials in Additive Manufacturing. Elsevier, pp 103–140
[12] Stano G, Arleo L, Percoco G (2020) Additive manufacturing for soft robotics: Design and fabrication of airtight, monolithic bending PneuNets with embedded air connectors. Micromachines (Basel) 11:. https://doi.org/10.3390/MI11050485
[13] Zolfagharian A, Mahmud MAP, Gharaie S, et al (2020) 3D/4D-printed bending-type soft pneumatic actuators: fabrication, modelling, and control. Virtual Phys Prototyp 15:373–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/17452759.2020.1795209
[14] Zlatintsi A, Dometios AC, Kardaris N, et al (2020) I-Support: A robotic platform of an assistive bathing robot for the elderly population. Rob Auton Syst 126:103451. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2020.103451
[15] Saleh MA, Soliman MA, Mousa MA, et al (2020) Design and implementation of variable inclined air pillow soft pneumatic actuator suitable for bioimpedance applications. Sens Actuators A Phys 314:. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2020.112272
[16] Gariya N, Kumar P, Prasad B, Singh T (2023) Soft pneumatic actuator with an embedded flexible polymeric piezoelectric membrane for sensing bending deformation. Mater Today Commun 35:. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.105910
[17] Coyle S, Majidi C, LeDuc P, Hsia KJ (2018) Bio-inspired soft robotics: Material selection, actuation, and design. Extreme Mech Lett 22:51–59. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eml.2018.05.003
[18] Kim K, Park J, Suh J, et al (2017) 3D printing of multiaxial force sensors using carbon nanotube (CNT)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filaments. Sens Actuators A Phys 263:493–500. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2017.07.020
[19] Song Z, Wang Z, Liu B, et al (2025) A soft gripper based on PneuNets structure with stiffness-variable-enhanced load capacity for object grasping. Sens Actuators A Phys 383:116253. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2025.116253
[20] Manti M, Cacucciolo V, Cianchetti M (2016) Stiffening in Soft Robotics: A Review of the State of the Art. IEEE Robot Autom Mag 23:93–106. https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2016.2582718
[21] Ansari Y, Manti M, Falotico E, et al (2017) Towards the development of a soft manipulator as an assistive robot for personal care of elderly people. Int J Adv Robot Syst 14:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1729881416687132
[22] Gorissen B, Leuven KU, De Volder M, et al (2017) Elastic Inflatable Actuators for Soft Robotic Applications. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9606
[23] Yao Y, He L, Maiolino P (2023) SPADA: A Toolbox of Designing Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Shape Matching based on Surrogate Modeling
[24] Pagliarani N, Arleo L, Albini S, Cianchetti M (2023) Variable Stiffness Technologies for Soft Robotics: A Comparative Approach for the STIFF-FLOP Manipulator. Actuators 12:. https://doi.org/10.3390/act12030096
