Towards micro and nano manipulation systems: behaviour of a laminated polypyrrole (PPy) actuator driving a rigid link

Conducting polymer actuators, such as Polypyrrole (PPy), incorporated into the structure of a manipulation system may be able to achieve micro and nanoscale precision, by avoiding effects such as backlash or friction. As a step towards this goal, laminated PPy actuators were varied in size and their behaviour investigated while constantly loaded by a rigid link. This behaviour has been evaluated in terms of the bending angle and force outputs of the actuator. It was found that the bending angles varied with length, but displayed unexpected trends due to the loading effects on the PPy. Force output of the actuators was also measured, with unloaded PPy producing greater force across all lengths than the near constant output of loaded PPy, attributable to the polymer and load interface.