ARTICLE

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w OPEN

3D printing of robotic soft actuators with

programmable bioinspired architectures
Manuel Schaffner 1, Jakob A. Faber 1, Lucas Pianegonda1, Patrick A. Rühs 1, Fergal Coulter 1,2 &
André R. Studart 1
1234567890():,;

Soft actuation allows robots to interact safely with humans, other machines, and their
surroundings. Full exploitation of the potential of soft actuators has, however, been hindered
by the lack of simple manufacturing routes to generate multimaterial parts with intricate
shapes and architectures. Here, we report a 3D printing platform for the seamless digital
fabrication of pneumatic silicone actuators exhibiting programmable bioinspired architectures
and motions. The actuators comprise an elastomeric body whose surface is decorated with
reinforcing stripes at a well-defined lead angle. Similar to the fibrous architectures found in
muscular hydrostats, the lead angle can be altered to achieve elongation, contraction, or
twisting motions. Using a quantitative model based on lamination theory, we establish design
principles for the digital fabrication of silicone-based soft actuators whose functional
response is programmed within the material's properties and architecture. Exploring such
programmability enables 3D printing of a broad range of soft morphing structures.

1 Complex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland. 2 UCD School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University

College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.A.F. (email: [email protected])
or to A.R.S. (email: [email protected])

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ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w

S
oft actuators enable smooth and conformable complex driving stimulus as a means to achieve programmable motion6,22.
motions that ensure safe interactions of robots with humans The driving stimulus in such muscular hydrostats is an electrical
and have led to impressive assistive technologies for reha- impulse emitted from a main processing unit, namely the brain.
bilitation and training1–4. Besides conformability and complex As opposed to recent examples of FEAs, the directionality is not
motion, low weight and reduced energy consumption are other programmed through the design of fluidic channels. Instead,
major advantages of soft actuators compared to conventional muscular hydrostats achieve directional deformation through the
rigid counterparts. In contrast to the mechatronic control of architecture of electro-responsive muscle fibers around the bio-
conventional actuation systems, soft actuators can be driven by logical actuator. Embedding morphological information inside
heat, light, air pressure, or liquid displacement. Air- and liquid- the material through the local fiber architecture reduces the
driven actuators, also known as fluidic elastomer actuators number of active components necessary for continuous motion,
(FEAs), are particularly interesting because of their simple control thus saving time and energy associated with signal processing in
without the need of many active components5. FEAs inspired by the brain6. This contrasts with the conventional mechatronic
octopus, worms, and starfish have been shown to perform tasks control of actuators, which requires more intensive central pro-
that would not be possible with hard structures1. Despite such cessing to impart complex continuous motion. Remarkably,
encouraging developments, further research in materials and biological structures exceed conventional robots in complexity of
fabrication technologies is needed to enable seamless manu- motions and adaptability by employing solely compliant materi-
facturing of soft actuators that reach the level of motion control als. Using a similar concept, plants exploit fiber architecture to
observed in biological systems6. achieve anisotropic deformation and thus grow or change shape
Using materials and fabrication technologies available since the in pre-programmed geometries23–25. In contrast to muscular
1950s, the so-called McKibben’s artificial muscle is one of the hydrostats, the fibers passively restrict the water-driven expansion
earliest examples of pneumatic soft actuators that can achieve of a continuous matrix in well-defined directions to achieve dif-
large contractile and extensional deformations7. In this system, an ferential deformation of the material. Despite these differences in
inflatable elastomeric bladder is sheathed with a double helical the active driving material, the relative dimensional changes
fiber weave. The strong weave restricts expansion of the bladder between matrix and fiber are the same, thus leading to an
in the longitudinal direction, forcing it to expand radially when equivalent final motion. Implementing such bioinspired strategies
the system is pressurized. The key design principle underlying in fluidic elastomer actuators using a 3D printing platform would
such actuation mechanism is the differential deformation of the be an effective approach to digitally fabricate compact soft
structure along the longitudinal and transverse directions. Several actuators with complex motion programmed within the material.
other combinations of materials and fabrication technologies In this study, we present a multimaterial 3D printing platform
have explored this principle to build continuum robotic manip- for the digital fabrication of silicone soft actuators displaying a
ulators inspired by muscular hydrostats like tentacles and wide range of motions that are programmable within the mate-
trunks6,8–14. Typically, a soft part comprising pressure chambers rial’s bioinspired fiber architecture. In contrast to previous work,
is combined with a stiff elastomer with embedded paper, fabrics, the proposed approach can be utilized to directly print silicones
or plastic film to achieve asymmetric strain when with a wide range of elasticities without requiring separate casting
pressurized15–17. Individual parts are often produced separately and assembly of silicone elements. Seamless multimaterial 3D
in sequential molding steps and later assembled to a functional printing of silicones with tuneable elasticity massively simplifies
unit4. Simple morphologies with one to two materials are pre- the fabrication process of soft robots by obviating the need for
ferred to minimize the risk of delamination while still facilitating assembly, thereby reducing the risk of interfacial delamination
fabrication and assembly. In addition to the delamination issue, while further extending the freedom of form. These capabilities
such molding techniques are time consuming, labor-intensive, are demonstrated by 3D printing functional pneumatic soft
and limited in terms of overall morphology. robots with precisely pre-programmed architectures that lead to
With the advent of two-dimenional (2D) soft lithography and complex shape transformations.
more recently three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies, a
wider variety of geometries and materials became accessible for
the fabrication of soft actuators1–5,18,19. Because of their ease in Results
processing, biocompatibility, and high stretchability, silicones Bioinspiration and silicone 3D printing platform. The fibrous
have been the material of choice in this newer generation of architecture of the muscular hydrostats that inspired our soft
actuators2,4. In this context, 3D printing has first been used to actuators leads to an anisotropic strain upon an electric stimulus
generate negative molds into which silicones are cast and con- (Fig. 1a). In our design, the multimaterial architecture leads to
solidated16,20. More recently, 3D printing of silicone-based anisotropic strain upon pressurization (Fig. 1b). In both cases, the
materials using stereolithography and Direct Ink Writing anisotropic strain is then transformed into complex motion
(DIW) have been shown3,4,19 and used for the digital manu- modes. To implement the differential deformation design concept
facturing of soft actuators inspired by muscular hydrostats1. For underlying the actuation principle of muscular hydrostats, stiff
example, elastomeric materials have been 3D printed using silicone stripes are printed on top of a soft silicone cylinder.
capillary suspension inks containing polydimethylsiloxane Changing the lead angle of the stiff stripes relative to the long-
(PDMS) in the form of both pre-cured microbeads and uncured itudinal axis of the cylinder leads to fiber architectures analogous
liquid precursor dispersed in water4, or using room-temperature to those of the biological counterpart. The seamless production of
vulcanizing silicones20 as well as thermoplastic elastomers sui- four functional pneumatic soft robots with continuous pro-
table for Fused Filament Fabrication21. However, current 3D grammed actuation is demonstrated using photocurable silicone
printed soft actuators have thus far been limited to bending as the inks with tuneable elasticity, called ‘Silinks’. The Silink platform
main motion mode and are far from reaching the level of com- enables multimaterial DIW of light-curable silicones with locally
plexity of the programmed architecture found in biological tunable stiffness into soft actuators with high freedom of pro-
systems. grammable motion.
The fiber architecture of many biological actuators like the The use of the Silinks with thiol-functionalized crosslinkers
elephant trunk, the mammalian tongue, and octopus arms dispersed in a continuous vinyl-terminated polysiloxane phase
exploits the anisotropic local deformation induced by an external (Fig. 1c) allows for bonding of deposited inks to already cured

2 NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2018)9:878 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w | www.nature.com/naturecommunications

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w ARTICLE

a b
Electric impulse Fluid pressure

Muscular hydrostat Bioinspired analog

c Silink d Multimaterial e Soft robotic

chemistry direct writing motion modes
Twisting Bending

Si Si Si
O O
n
α,ω-vinyl-terminated PDMS
HS O + O
SH
+
Photo-
O O
+
Flax
+
O O
initiator fibers
HS 4-SH SH
O O
+
Rheological
modifier

Contracting Design Grabbing

Fig. 1 Muscular hydrostat and 3D printed bioinspired soft actuators. a Multilamellar fiber architecture and functional principle of the elephant trunk used
here as an example of a muscular hydrostat. Muscle fiber contraction (blue) driven by neuron impulses causes anisotropic contraction of individual
lamellae. The elephant image has been adapted from Digital Zoo/Photodisc/Getty. b Bioinspired analog of muscular hydrostats and plant cell walls
comprising linear stiff stripes (blue) separated by a soft matrix (yellow). Anisotropic deformation in this case is driven by liquid displacement or air
pressure and results from the preferential reinforcement parallel to the stiff stripes. c Vinyl-terminated silicones are blended with a multivalent thiol-
crosslinker, fumed silica as rheological modifier and a photoinitiator to generate light-curable silicone inks, named Silinks. Variable ink constituents yield
Silinks with tunable stiffness ranging from soft and stretchable to hard and stiff. d Multimaterial 3D printing seamlessly combines different stiffness in a
single print, allowing for precise programming of the actuator’s shape transformations when inflated (e)

Table 1 Formulations for the soft, intermediate, and stiff Silinks

Components Soft ink Intermediate ink Stiff ink

Silicone 1 g Ecoflex 00-30 A 0.5 g Dragonskin 30 A 0.5 g Sylgard 184
Vinyl Q-Resin Dispersion — 0.5 g 0.5 g
VQM-135
Pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (4SH) 0.03 mL 0.23 mL 0.5 mL
Hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (HHPK) 0.03 g 0.03 g 0.03 g
9-Vinylcarbazole (enhancer) 0.005 g 0.005 g 0.005 g
Wacker HDK 0.05 g 0.05 g 0.1 g
Fumed silica H18
Flax fibers — — 0.15 g

sections and thereby leads to perfect interface strength. Not only at distinct ratios. The vinyl-terminated silicone forms the con-
is this interface strength present between sections that were cured tinuous phase of the resulting emulsion, whereas the thiol
at different times, but also between different Silink formulations. crosslinker remains as homogeneously distributed disperse phase.
This ideal bonding in multimaterial structures opens the The process is solvent free and does not require chemical mod-
possibility to directly 3D print silicones with different local ification of the constituents. Three distinct ink designs, hereafter
materials properties and geometries (Fig. 1d). Four designs of named soft, intermediate, and stiff Silinks, were formulated
pneumatic soft robots including a bender, a grabber, a twister, (Table 1). The Silinks contain the vinyl-terminated silicone, the
and a contractor are introduced to illustrate the potential of the thiol crosslinker, and fumed silica as rheological modifier. The
Silink platform (Fig. 1e). stiff Silink contains in addition 15 wt% of chemically functiona-
lized short flax fibers with lengths in the range of 300–400 µm.
Light-curable silicones with tuneable elasticity. To obtain The inks were first characterized with respect to their
photocurable resins that can be printed by multimaterial DIW, viscoelastic properties to determine if they fulfill the rheological
viscoelastic silicone inks that form an emulsion and result in requirements for multimaterial DIW. Strain amplitude sweeps
elastomers with variable stiffness after polymerization were obtained from oscillatory rheological measurements indicate the
developed. Tuneable mechanical properties are achieved by presence of a predominantly elastic network at rest and a storage
blending vinyl-terminated silicones of different molecular weights modulus plateau Gʹ of 2, 5, and 43 kPa for the soft, intermediate,
with a multivalent low molecular weight thiol-crosslinker (4-SH) and stiff inks, respectively (Fig. 2a). According to theoretical

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ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w

a b
105 105

Storage (G ′), loss (G ″) modulus (Pa)

104
104

Viscosity (Pa*s)
103
103

102
Soft ink (G ′)
Soft ink (G ″)
102 Intermediate ink (G′)
Soft ink
Intermediate ink (G″)
Stiff ink (G ′) 101 Intermediate ink
Stiff ink (G ″) Stiff ink

0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Strain (%) Shear rate (1/s)

c d Polymerized Polymerized
Casted Parallel at once in 2 steps

2
2

1.5
Stress (MPa)
Stress (MPa)

1.5

1
1

Soft ink casted

Soft polym. in 2 steps
Soft ink parallel
0.5 0.5 Soft polym. at once
Intermediate ink casted Intermediate polym. in 2 steps
Intermediate ink parallel Intermediate polym. at once
Stiff ink casted Stiff polym. in 2 steps
Stiff ink parallel Stiff polym. at once
0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Strain (%) Strain (%)

Fig. 2 Rheological properties of Silinks and mechanical behavior of printed inks after polymerization. a Storage modulus, Gʹ, and loss modulus, Gʹʹ, of the
soft, intermediate, and stiff Silink as a function of the strain amplitude applied in an oscillatory sweep measurement. Crossovers at high strains indicate the
presence of a predominantly elastic network at rest, which is crucial for shape retention after extrusion. b All Silinks exhibit shear-thinning behavior visible
by the decrease in viscosity at higher shear rates under steady-state conditions. In combination with the viscoelastic network formation, shear thinning
guarantees a consistent flow through the nozzle and enables high printing accuracy with a spatial resolution as low as 300 µm. c Soft, intermediate, and
stiff Silinks tested parallel to the printing direction and compared to casted samples. Printing does not adversely affect the rupture strengths of the Silinks. d
Influence of the polymerization protocol on the bonding strength between printed filaments. Continuous films polymerized post printing are compared to a
film with polymerization halfway through the print. The bonding strength between filaments directly polymerized after deposition is not affected in
comparison to a film deposited continuously in one run and polymerized after printing. All samples were tested perpendicular to the printing direction

calculations based on simple beam theory26,27, the measured required for printing. Finally, the inks do not show any
storage modulus of each Silink formulation should allow for visible inhomogeneity over weeks when stored under
printing of grid structures with free-spanning bridging lengths of ambient conditions, suggesting no aging or phase separation that
19 (stiff), 13 (intermediate), and 10 mm (soft) using a 0.41-mm could compromise the quality and reproducibility of the
nozzle diameter. Crossovers of Gʹ and Gʹʹ at high strains also formulations.
indicate the presence of a dynamic yield stress, τy, for all the The mechanical properties of silicone parts printed from
investigated inks. τy values of 24, 35, and 420 Pa were measured different inks were quantified to ensure that the stiffness ratio
for the soft, intermediate, and stiff ink formulations, respectively. between the stiff stripes and the matrix (Fig. 1b) is sufficiently
Our printing experiments reveal that such yield stress levels are high to enable anisotropic deformation of the bioinspired
sufficiently high to minimize distortion due to capillary forces architectures upon pressurization. Indeed, the stiffness changes
and thus ensure instantaneous shape retention with printing by one order of magnitude with increasing amounts of crosslinker
accuracy down to 300 µm. Yield stresses above the threshold of in the Silinks. The intermediate and stiff formulations reach an
approximately 100 kPa required to print overhangs28 can be elastic modulus of 1.00 ± 0.06 and 3.40 ± 0.17 MPa, respectively,
achieved by adding higher amounts of fumed silica to the ink whereas a value of 0.13 ± 0.01 MPa was measured for soft inks
formulations. Besides oscillatory measurements, steady-state (Fig. 2c). Higher stiffness values were accompanied by a decrease
rheology was also used to characterize the flow properties of in elongation at break (εB). εB values of 922 ± 25%, 267 ± 20%,
the inks. All formulations show a strong shear thinning behavior and 150 ± 11% were measured for the soft, intermediate, and stiff
(Fig. 2b), which leads to a decrease in apparent viscosity by four formulations, respectively.
orders of magnitude for increasing applied shear rates. This The high extensibility achieved makes the silicone formulations
facilitates the extrusion process and reduces the pressures ideal for the fabrication of conformable soft actuators. To evaluate

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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w ARTICLE

whether the 3D printing process does not introduce defects that In the printing process, the soft cylinder is first created by
could compromise the mechanical properties of the silicones, the depositing a single 0.8 mm thick layer of the soft ink on top of a
mechanical properties of printed silicone specimens were rotating cylindrical support with an inner diameter of 22 mm.
compared to those of samples directly cast into rectangular After consolidation by photopolymerization, the soft cylindrical
molds using the same ink formulations. Printed Silinks show part is then coated with stiff stripes oriented at an angle α relative
elastic modulus, rupture strength, and elongation at break that are to the longitudinal axis. Fibers with well-defined lead angles are
higher or comparable to their casted references when tested generated by continuously turning the cylindrical part around its
parallel to the printing direction (Fig. 2c). This confirms that the long axis while the stiff ink is deposited through a translating
printing process does not affect the mechanical properties arising nozzle. Stiff stripes are printed in multiple steps by the additive
from the Silink chemistry, allowing printed parts to fully benefit deposition of 0.4 mm thick layers until a final height of 4 mm is
from the high stretchability and tuneable stiffness of the silicones reached. Each layer is directly polymerized in a nitrogen-
used. saturated atmosphere for 1 min after printing.
To assure soft actuators do not rupture when inflated, a Pressurization of the bioinspired soft actuators eventually leads
mechanically strong interface between single print lines as well as to the large-range twisting and contractile motions programmed
between different material compositions is also crucial. We through the lead angle, α. Winding the stripes around the tube at
observed that all Silinks show strong interfacial bonding between a lead angle of 45° (Fig. 3b) or 30° (Supplementary Note 1,
printed filaments. This is demonstrated by the minor deviation in Supplementary Figure 1) resulted in twisting of the tube, in line
interfacial strength observed when testing a newly printed Silink with the design principle underlying the actuation of muscular
layer adjacent to an already polymerized layer as compared to a hydrostats. The degree of rotation at increasing pressures up to
continuous layer that is polymerized at once (Fig. 2d). We assume 6 kPa is illustrated below each frame shown in Fig. 3b. Maximal
that the strong interfacial linkage observed for all Silinks originate torsions of 225° and 160° were obtained for lead angles of 45° and
from chemical bonds between the single lines, regardless of 30°, respectively. Further reducing the lead angle to 0°, with the
whether they were readily polymerized or not. This suggests that stripes now parallel to the main axis, resulted in contraction by
thiol-functional groups are left on the surface after photopoly- radial expansion of the tube when pressurized (Fig. 3a). The
merization, providing chemical anchors for the next filament to contractor displays a maximal contraction of 8.5% at a pressure of
bond to. Only chemical bonding between the extruded filaments 6 kPa and an actuation speed of up to 18 mm/s (Supplementary
enable a layer-by-layer fabrication without risking delamination Figure 4).
between the individual layers. Therefore, the described fabrication
process is not restricted in its overall size by limited UV Design principles and modeling of soft actuators. Under-
penetration of a few millimeters at 365 nm since multiple layers standing the effect of the applied pressure on the large-range
can be sequentially polymerized without minimizing the overall motion achieved by the soft actuators is crucial for their design,
performance. programming, and successful operation in robotic applications.
Despite the strong interfacial bonding between printed For the preliminary design of motion modes and a knowledgeable
filaments, the mechanical properties of the fiber-containing stiff overview of the influencing parameters, simplified analytical
ink were found to depend on the testing orientation relative to the models are ideal. Assuming that the stiffness parallel to the fibers
printing direction (Fig. 2c, d). High shear stresses in the nozzle is dominated by the stiff stripes and that the soft transverse
during printing are expected to align the fibers of the stiff ink behavior is dictated only by the high compliance of the soft layer,
along the flow direction6,7,29,30. Fibers aligned parallel to the one can use established lamination theory to obtain the strains
tensile loading can take more of the applied mechanical stress, underlying all motion modes, namely contraction, elongation,
which explains the 14% higher elastic modulus of samples and twisting, as shown in Fig. 4a. For the exemplary twisting
measured in this orientation. By contrast, fibers oriented mode, this approach results in the following simple relation:
perpendicular to the applied force introduce critical defects in  
the material that reduce the rupture strength by 30%. Such 2L pi Da 1 1
θ¼ γxy and γxy ¼   
anisotropic mechanical properties are strictly connected to the Dm 2ta EStiff ESoft ð1Þ
presence of fibers, since the intermediate and soft Silink

containing no fibers show equal strengths and stiffness when  3 sin ðαÞ cosðαÞ þ cos ðαÞ sinðαÞ ;
3 3

tested either parallel or perpendicular to the printing direction

(Fig. 2c, d). where α is the lead angle, pi is the applied inner pressure, L is the
length of the cylinder, ta and Da are the average thickness and
 
diameter, and EStiff and ESoft are the normalized elastic moduli of
3D printing of pneumatic silicone actuators. Because of their the stiff and soft phases, respectively. These relations are derived
tuneable elasticity combined with strong interfacial bonding, for all main motion modes by homogenizing the material prop-
Silinks can be used to 3D print silicone parts with bioinspired erties of the fiber architecture and should only be valid for small
fiber architectures for programmable pneumatic actuation. To pressures and deformations (see Supplementary Methods).
illustrate these capabilities, cylindrical soft actuators with three With such analytical relationships at hand, a wide design space
distinct fiber architectures were designed and 3D printed using of parameters can be quickly investigated (Fig. 4a). As expected
the multimaterial DIW process. In these first three designs, the and confirmed by the experiments, the stripe design parameter α
soft ink formulation is used to generate a highly stretchable determines the maximum strain achievable, thus defining if the
cylindrical part, whereas the stiff ink is utilized to create the dominant motion mode is contraction (small angles), extension
different programmable fiber architectures on the surface of the (large angles), or twist (medium angles). The maximum twist per
soft cylinder. The main design parameter in these examples is the applied pressure occurs not at α = 45°, as one might intuitively
lead angle, α, of the stiff stripe relative to the long axis of the think, but at 55°, which agrees to previous results obtained with a
underlying cylindrical part. Following the design principle of different route22.
muscular hydrostats and plant cell walls (Fig. 1a, b), the α values Insights on the correlation between material properties and
were deliberately chosen to achieve twisting and contraction as final actuation are also possible using the derived analytical
exemplary bioinspired actuation modes. equations. To achieve maximum twist per applied pressure, a

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ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w

a Contractor b Twister 45°

0° 0° 0° 0° 0°
c Bender
90° 270° 90° 270° 90° 270° 90° 270° 90° 270°

180° 180° 180° 180° 180°

e Grabbing 500 g Lifting 500 g

0° 23° 41° 86°

d Grabber

Δz

Fig. 3 Soft actuators with programmed motion modes fabricated by multimaterial 3D printing of silicones. Actuators with bioinspired architectures are
shown in a and b, whereas other multimaterial morphing configurations are displayed in c and d. a Contraction is achieved by printing stiff stripes along the
long axis of a soft silicone tube (lead angle α = 0°), thereby restricting its elongation and only allowing for radial expansion. b A twisting motion is
generated by winding the stripes around the soft inner tube with a lead angle of for example 45° with respect to the long axis. The twisting angle increases
with the applied internal pressure. c Bending motion is obtained when a soft silicone with embedded air cavities is printed onto a stiff silicone film,
restricting one side of the chambers from expansion when pressurized. Bending angles up to 90° are achieved at a pressure of 6 kPa. d A grabbing and
sealing soft actuator was designed by printing a closed, stiff silicone cylinder with a concentric inner soft tube separated by an air cavity. When inflated, the
inner tube deforms uniformly until mechanical instability leads to buckling and finally to a complete sealing of the central opening. e Load bearing capacity
of grabbing and contractile soft actuators. Scale bars are 2 cm for a–d and 4 cm for e

stiffness reduction along the transverse direction is much more geometrical and material nonlinearities of the different silicone
efficient than the stiffening of the restricting stripes, as compared formulations used.
to the initial design. This reduction in transverse stiffness can be The nonlinear material stress–strain curves strongly influence
obtained by choosing for example softer inks or a thinner base the stability of inflated large-strain cavities, a problem typical for
cylinder. For the 45° prototype shown in Fig. 3b, our simple linear rubber balloons and their analysis31. This link of material
model predicts a twist of 48° per kPa of applied pressure. The properties and balloon stability determines the controllability of
experiments confirm the model relatively well for small pressures the actuators. To achieve controllable motion of a soft robot, a
and angles (Fig. 4b). This tool is therefore highly valuable in the monotonous, constantly rising relationship between applied
preliminary design of soft robotic motion and to obtain scaling pressure and resulting displacement is necessary. In inflated
relations valid for cylindrical geometries and small deformations. cavities, it is known that linear and digressive stress–strain
For the large strains and the complex motion patterns made behaviors lead to instabilities during inflation, making the
possible by 3D printing of multimaterial actuators, higher-order material unsuitable for pressure-controlled motion. In contrast,
models are needed for detailed design. Here, we use finite element a monotonous and thus stable relationship between pressure and
analysis simulations to model the large nonlinearities of the twist angle occurs for significantly progressive material beha-
twisting soft actuator, as illustrative example (Fig. 4c). We chose vior32. The highly progressive stress–strain characteristics of
the twisting mode as an example because of the highest Silinks (Fig. 2) and their structured topology make them
complexity of this motion. The motion of the twister involves especially suitable for these pressure-controlled applications.
anisotropic deformation of the patterned material, large shear Indeed, no pressure instabilities were observed in the
strains as well as reorientation of the stripes during twisting. In experiments.
contrast, grabber and bender are comprised of isotropic regions The FEA model provides a good quantitative prediction of the
only and the contractor deforms without shear strain or stripe experimental data, particularly in the high-pressure range not
reorientation, making them the less complex cases. The procedure covered by the analytical relations (Fig. 4c). The FEA tends to
described here can be easily expanded to these simpler motion overestimate the stiffness of the system. As a result, the difference
modes. Our finite element model of the 45° twister was built between experiments and simulations is maximal at low pressures
according to the measured geometry of the printed prototype. reaching 35% at 1.2 kPa. This error decreases to 4.5% at the
The geometry was virtually inflated by simulating an incompres- higher pressure of 6 kPa (Fig. 4d). These disagreements are
sible fluid inside the cavity. The simulated cavity consists of shell mainly attributed to thickness inhomogeneity arising from the
elements for the thin, tubular base layer made from the soft ink. printing process and simplified boundary conditions of the
This base layer is attached to solid continuum elements for the complex, clamped end region of the soft actuators. Improved
reinforcing stripes made from the stiff ink. For each type of ink, a accuracy might be possible by performing multiaxial material
distinct material model was employed to capture the complex testing, contact simulation of the clamped regions and refinement

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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w ARTICLE

a 0.25
c
Fixed end
20 mm
0.20
xy(E⊥/2)

Strain /p, /p in 1/ kPa

0.15 2.5 mm
xy(EII•2) x1.5 mm
Contraction: y
0.10

0.9 mm
0.05
t:  xy
T wis
0.00

100 mm
Elongation: 
x

–0.05
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Base cylinder:
Reinforcement angle  in ° Soft silink
hyperelastic lin.
4-node shells
b 300
el
Stripes:
250 od Stiff silink
l m
ica hyperelastic lin.
t
aly 8-node solids
200 An del
Angle of twist  in °

t mo
ele men
 Rotating end
150 t Finite
en
im
er
100 Ex
p d
200%
0 kPa 1.2 2.4 3.6 6 kPa
50

100%
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Pressure p in kPa 0%

Fig. 4 Model predictions of the morphing behavior of soft actuators exhibiting bioinspired multimaterial architectures. a Analytical prediction of strains
over the lead angle of the stiff stripes in a pressurized cylinder. Small angles lead predominantly to contractile motion, large angles to elongation, and
diagonal angles to twist. To increase the efficiency of the motion mode twisting, a reduction of the transverse stiffness by 50% is significantly more
effective than doubling the parallel stiffness. b Predicted and experimentally measured twist angle as a function of the applied internal pressure. c
Geometry, simulation parameters, and finite element model of the 45° twister. d Calculated first principal strain distribution and soft actuator shapes
compared to experimental photographs

of the printing process. Smearing of properties into orthotropic multimaterial actuator, two concentric cylinders were printed
homogeneous metamaterials can also reduce the computing with an elastomeric inner wall and an outer stiff wall. An air
power significantly. Overall, the combination of FEA with an cavity separates the inner from the outer cylinder, which has an
accurate material model enables precise prediction of the inlet channel that connects the actuator to the external pressure
pneumatic morphing of silicone multimaterial architectures. By system. When inflated, the inner tube first deforms uniformly
pre-programming shape change on a material level and until mechanical instability leads to buckling and finally to a
simultaneously using the design freedom of 3D printing, tunable complete sealing of the central channel. Such a grabbing
motion modes ranging from basic movements to freeform pneumatic actuator holds and conforms to objects with different
morphing of great complexity can be achieved. masses and shapes, making it a useful tool to handle fragile object
Importantly, the Silink chemistry proposed here can be utilized or to control mass flow through the central channel (Supple-
for the multimaterial 3D printing of soft actuators beyond the mentary Figure 2). Circular, hexagonal, rectangular, and
fiber architectures inspired by muscular hydrostats and plant cell triangular-shaped profiles are grabbed and tightly enclosed by
walls. We illustrate this by designing soft actuators that exploit the soft robotic element.
silicones with different elastic moduli to program bending and Besides their shape conformability and smooth morphing
grabbing functionalities. These soft robotic elements were 3D capabilities, the printed actuators can also carry high mechanical
printed by depositing soft and stiff Silinks onto a water-based loads. Remarkably, the grabbing and contractile soft actuators are
support ink that was later removed to generate an air cavity. capable to lift a load of 500 g, which corresponds to more than 50
Bending actuators were created by printing the walls of the air times their body mass. They also operate reliably without losing
cavity using the soft ink except for its bottom part, which was performance in actuation or show signs of inelastic deformation
made out of stiff Silink (Fig. 3c). This asymmetry in local elastic after extensive lifting cycles. In the experiments shown in Fig. 3e,
modulus resulted in preferential extension of the soft side, the load was held in place for 15 min without observing slipping
allowing the structure to bend towards the stiff side. A maximal or inelastic deformation of the actuators. Combining the grabber
bending angle of 90° was achieved in this case at a pressure of with the contractor, handling of fragile objects with different
5 kPa. The asymmetric local elastic modulus required for bending masses and shapes is possible without losing performance even
can also be programmed by printing stiff stripes with lead angles under heavy loads.
of 0° and 90° on each side of a soft cylindrical substrate, as In summary, we developed a 3D printing platform for the
illustrated in Supplementary Figure 3. In another example, digital fabrication of silicone-based soft actuators whose
tuneable geometry and local materials properties were exploited pneumatic-driven motion is programmed within their multi-
to create actuators with grabbing and sealing functionalities. The material architecture. Alike plant systems and muscular hydro-
actuator consists of a soft inner silicone tube embedded within a stats, programmable contractile, expanding and twisting motions
concentric outer stiff cylinder (Fig. 3d). To obtain this are achieved by simply controlling the lead angle of the stiff phase

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2018)9:878 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w | www.nature.com/naturecommunications 7

ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03216-w

with respect to the long axis of the soft cylindrical actuator speeds between 4 and 10 mm/s and printing pressures in the range 500–4000 kPa.
beneath. The lead angle determines the local anisotropic strains These parameters were adjusted for each of the Silinks. The interface was tested by
printing and subsequent polymerization of specimens with a single layer thickness.
developed throughout the cylindrical actuator during pressuriza- Following the polymerization, an adjacent second layer was printed next to the
tion, which is the fundamental design principle underlying the already cured layer at the same height. Curing for 60 s was performed using an
programmable motion of these systems. Predicting such local OmniCure Series 1000 (Excelitas, USA) under nitrogen enriched atmosphere. After
strains with the help of lamination theory and FEA modeling the polymerization of the adjacent layer, tensile samples were punched perpendi-
enables mapping of the design space available for programming cular to the printing direction. Mechanical tests were performed at 20 mm/min at a
pre-force of 0.05 N using an Autograph ASG-X mechanical testing machine
the different actuation modes. In addition to the lead angle, the (Shimazu, Japan). The elastic modulus was determined between 0.5% and 5%
relative density of stiff stripes, the elastic modulus ratio between strain. Reported values for ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus, and elonga-
stiff and soft phases, and the aspect ratio of the cylinder are the tion at break were averaged over at least five samples.
other relevant design parameters for the soft actuators investi-
gated in this study. Extending these concepts to more complex 3D printing soft robotic actuators. The bending and grabbing soft robots were
geometries and multimaterial architectures will enable the digital printed using the 3D Discovery and cylindrical needles with an inner diameter of
0.41 mm. After each layer, a curing step of 60 s was performed under reduced
fabrication of soft actuators with more elaborate programmable oxygen atmosphere. After printing, the support was washed with water, leaving air
motion to fulfill the increasing demand for robots that interact cavities behind. Air tubing was inserted which were then connected to a pressure
safely with humans. source. The tubular soft robots for twisting and contraction were printed using a
custom built 4-axis CNC gantry printer, which prints on a rotating cylindrical
mandrel using an eco-PEN300 (Preeflow, Germany). Cylindrical needles with an
Methods inner diameter of 1.19 mm were used and a curing step was performed after each
Materials. EcoFlex 00–30 A and DragonSkin 30 A were purchased from Smooth- layer. The soft robotics actuators were cured using an OmniCure Series 1000 under
On (USA), whereas Sylgard 184 was acquired from DowCoring (USA). Pentaer- reduced oxygen atmosphere for 5 min. Air tubing, mechanical fasteners and
ythritol tetrakis(3-mercapto-proprionate) (abbreviated as 4SH) and 9- polycarbonate profiles were used to make the robots airtight and inflatable.
vinylcarbazole (abbreviated as enhancer) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich
(Switzerland). 1-Hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (abbreviated as HHPK) was
provided by TCI (Japan) and silanol-trimethylsilyl modified Q resin (abbreviated as FEA simulations. To account for the sensitivity of the simulations to the shape of
Q resin) was purchased from Gelest Inc. (USA). Hydrophobic fumed silica HDK the stress–strain curves (see discussion in main text), the Silinks were modeled
H18 and hydrophilic fumed silica V15 were supplied by Wacker (Germany) and using a hyperelastic material model as proposed by Marlow33. This model was
the short flax fibers were provided by Ruthmann (Germany). For the fiber fitted to mechanical characterization results analogous to the ones shown in Fig. 2.
hydrophobization chlorotis(trimethylsiloxy)silane (abbreviated as CTS) from To achieve additional accuracy, the soft ink, whose high strains dominate the shape
ABCR (Germany) was used combined with pyridine 95% from Sigma-Aldrich response, was repeatedly pre-stretched to 100% strain before data acquisition to
(Switzerland). account for the Mullins effect34. Furthermore, all strain values were amended using
Digital Image Correlation measurements to show the real, highly progressive
stress–strain characteristic of the Silinks. As a result, a monotonous pressure–twist
Hydrophobized flax fibers. Flax short fibers were functionalized using chlorotris relationship was obtained, showing the same digressive behavior as the tested
(trimethylsiloxy)silane (abbreviated as CTS) in pyridine as a solvent. To functio- prototype (Fig. 4c, d). All the materials properties and geometrical parameters used
nalize 1 g of flax fibers, 1 mL of CTS and 5 mL pyridine were put into a sealed in the simulations and in the analytical model are shown in Supplementary Table 1.
50 mL falcon tube with nitrogen-enriched atmosphere and thoroughly mixed. The
slurry was shaken for 10 min and dispersed in an ultrasonic bath for 20 min. The
Data availability. All data are available from the authors upon reasonable request.
fibers were filtered and washed with 60 mL of double distilled H2O. The fibers were
dried at 50 °C under reduced pressure and sifted through a 280-μm sieve.
Received: 28 July 2017 Accepted: 29 January 2018
Ink preparation. The base component of the silicone rubbers was mixed with 4SH,
HHPK (3 wt%), Enhancer (0.5 wt%), and hydrophobic fumed silica to obtain
printable inks. Three inks were developed to cover a broad stiffness range: one soft,
one intermediate, and one stiff. The soft ink was based on EcoFlex 00–30 A to
which 4 wt% of 4SH and 5 wt% hydrophobic fumed silica were added. The
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