Consistent Manufacturing Device for Coiled Polymer Actuators

Coiled polymer actuators are fabricated by heating a twisted nylon fishing filament. This paper provides a detailed review of their manufacturing process and proposes a method to manufacture these actuators consistently to improve the predictability of their behavior. Two devices are presented: a device that prepares consistent filament sections, and another that twists and coils the filament. Seven successful actuators are produced using the proposed method. The behavior of the manufactured actuators is characterized using a tensile test on an Instron universal testing machine. Fluctuations in the observed force are believed to be due to inconsistencies in resistance wire lengths.