WO2011108786A1 - Manufacturing method for three dimensional folding actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a three-dimensional folding actuator. The present invention comprises the following five steps: (1) using an imid film to fill empty space, excluding the PDMS-applied areas; (2) forming a PDMS layer by treating the surface of said imid film and mold with flourosilane; (3) thermal-curing the PDMS layer and then removing the imid film; (4) creating hydroxyl functional groups and forming a methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane monolayer through an oxygen plasma treatment, with a PDMS layer formed on said mold in place; and (5) UV curing by applying a polar PU/HEMA layer. The present invention provides a manufacturing method for a new actuator, which brings together a variety of technologies, as it enables a new three-dimensional folding actuator in a form that can be easily adjusted through a combination of a hydrogel and an actuator.

Description

Manufacturing Method of 3D Folding Actuator

The present invention is to combine a three-dimensional structure with a polymer hydrogel, to implement a new actuator that can be applied in the production of new devices, such as by using a characteristic that changes the form and structure in response to external stimulation.

Research and development of hydrogels and actuators used in the present invention has been carried out with a lot of interest in the past, and research and market applications of each technology can be easily found, but are focused on each technology. There is no research on the combination of various technologies. Various types of high functional actuators manufactured using polymer materials, which are organic compounds, do not exist in any existing technical field. There is a need for highly functional, three-dimensional folding actuators for the fabrication of new devices in the field of mechanical, electrical and electronic biotechnology at the nano / micro scale.

The manufacturing method of the three-dimensional folding actuator according to the present invention will provide the basis of various form changes through the introduction of the basic principle and hydrogel of the existing actuator. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a three-dimensional folding actuator that is more highly integrated and more functional than a conventional actuator and is applicable to technical fields such as photons, electricity, magnetic devices and chemical and biological sensors.

The three-dimensional folding actuator manufacturing method according to the present invention

A first step of filling an empty space using an imide film except for a portion to which PDMS is applied;

A second step of forming a PDMS layer by treating fluorine on surfaces of the imide film and the mold;

A third step of removing the imide film after thermally curing the PDMS layer;

A fourth step of forming a hydroxyl functional group and forming a methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane monolayer through an oxygen plasma treatment under the presence of the PDMS layer formed in the mold;

And a fifth step of performing UV curing by applying a polar PU / HEMA layer.

Further, in the present invention, the mold is manufactured using a unit of mm that can be observed by the eye, the size of the actuator is characterized in that the production can be up to 100㎛ ~ 1m.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the shape of the part occupied by the actuator in the mold by expressing the three-dimensional structure to be assembled in a two-dimensional structure, the mold is divided into any one of the form of a tetrahedron, a cube and a flat ball to produce do.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that the component ratio of PU: HEMA in the PU / HEMA layer is 1-9: 9-1.

Actuator manufacturing method according to the present invention can implement a new three-dimensional folding actuator that can freely adjust the form by the external stimulation in accordance with the combination of the hydrogel and the actuator to produce a new actuator in which a variety of technologies are bonded photons, electricity, It will have excellent functions that can be applied to magnetic devices, chemical and biological sensors, and related materials.

1 is a view showing the glass transition temperature (Tg) and physical properties of the PU / HEMA composite by the HEMA component ratio, (a) is a graph showing the change in Tg due to the difference in the component ratio of HEMA, (b) is a PU / HEMA Graph showing changes in physical properties due to differences in component ratios.

2 is a graph showing the expansion volume ratio of PDMS layer and PU / HEMA layer under various solvent conditions.

3 is a view showing a manufacturing process of a three-dimensional folding actuator.

4 is a driving view of the three-dimensional folding actuator.

5 is a two-dimensional symmetrical structure (cube, pyramid, flat ball structure) designed before the swelling reaction.

The three-dimensional folding actuator manufacturing method according to the present invention

A first step of filling an empty space using an imide film except for a portion to which PDMS is applied;

A second step of forming a PDMS layer by treating fluorine on surfaces of the imide film and the mold;

A third step of removing the imide film after thermally curing the PDMS layer;

A fourth step of forming a hydroxyl functional group and forming a methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane monolayer through an oxygen plasma treatment under the presence of the PDMS layer formed in the mold;

And a fifth step of performing UV curing by applying a polar PU / HEMA layer.

Further, in the present invention, the mold is manufactured using a unit that can be observed by the eye, the size of the actuator is characterized in that the production can be up to 100㎛ ~ 1m.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the shape of the part occupied by the actuator in the mold by expressing the three-dimensional structure to be assembled in a two-dimensional structure, the mold is divided into any one of the form of a tetrahedron, a cube and a flat ball to produce do.

Additionally, the present invention is characterized in that the component ratio of PU: HEMA in the PU / HEMA layer is 1-9: 9-1.

According to the present invention, a new concept of photons / electricity / devices, chemical / biological sensors, and actuators using a hydrogel may be developed and applied to many other industries.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

EXAMPLE

The manufacturing process of the actuator according to the present invention was to combine the polymer hydrogel and the three-dimensional structure, to implement a new three-dimensional folding actuator that the shape changes freely according to external stimulation

The simplest and simplest existing actuator is a one-dimensional cantilever structure that is mainly used in MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). The three-dimensional folding actuator of the present invention was produced by using a polymer by varying the composition ratio from the bi-layer one-dimensional kenti lever structure. The polymer used in the actuator is considered to be an ideal material because it can change the surface freely and easily change the shape and size in response to the external environment compared to the silicon inorganic material. In addition, the polymer material is used as a material for silicon-based electronic devices and bio devices that are currently being studied in various fields because they can easily change molecular structure and have chemical and mechanical stability.

In order to realize the actuator of the cube structure in the present invention, a flexible, transparent, thermosetting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and UV-curable polyurethane / 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (PU / HEMA) elastomer composite, respectively, nonpolar (hydrophobic) and polar (hydrophilic) Selective swelling experiments were carried out in polar / non-polar solvents. 1 is a view showing the glass transition temperature (Tg) and physical properties by the HEMA component ratio in the PU / HEMA composite. Figure 1 (a) is a change in Tg due to the difference in the component ratio of HEMA, Figure 1 (b) is a change in physical properties according to the difference in the component ratio of PU / HEMA. As shown here, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and universal mechanical tester (UMT) experiments are performed by varying the component ratios of PU and HEMA to find the optimal reaction conditions of the selected PU / HEMA. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and physical properties of the PU / HEMA composites according to the HEMA component ratio were determined.

PU and HEMA were manufactured with various component ratios, and the thermal and mechanical analysis showed the best thermal and mechanical properties at the composition ratio of 7: 3, and was selected as the optimal PU / HEMA component ratio for the manufacture of actuators.

In addition, before implementing the three-dimensional folding actuator, in order to determine the swelling characteristics of the PDMS layer and the PU / HEMA layer according to the polarity or non-polarity of the solvent, the expansion volume ratio according to the swelling time was measured. This swelling characteristic increased the efficiency of assembly of the three-dimensional structure by using the optimal solvent in the driving experiment of the actuator.

Manufacture of 3D Folding Actuators

By designing a two-dimensional symmetric structure in advance, various actuators of a new high-dimensional three-dimensional structure can be manufactured, and a manufacturing process of the two-dimensional symmetric structure for making a cube, which is one of the most basic three-dimensional structures, is shown in FIG. 3.

The three-dimensional folding actuator is an actuator in which a two-dimensional symmetrical structure manufactured by applying PDMS rods between square arrays of PU / HEMA composites changes shape in three dimensions without color change through swelling reaction under solvent conditions. The manufacturing process of the three-dimensional folding actuator is simpler than the manufacturing process of the conventional scroll or helical actuator because it skips the crystallization process of silica colloid.

Except where PDMS is applied in the mold, the voids are filled with an imide film, fluorinated, and the PDMS layer is thermally cured in the form of a rod. After maintaining the shape of PDMS, the imide film was removed and oxygen plasma treatment was performed on the surface of the mold and PDMS layer to form a methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane monolayer. 1 to 9: 9 to 1 ratio of PU / HEMA layer is added to the UV cured after the prepared sample is separated. Using the manufacturing process of such a three-dimensional folding actuator it is possible to reversible assembling not only a cube but also a tetrahedron and a flat ball structure through a change in a predesigned two-dimensional symmetrical structure.

4 and 5 show how actuators of various structures predesigned in two dimensions are changed into three-dimensional structures over time according to the shape of the patterns designed in polar / nonpolar solvents over time. Picture taken.

In FIG. 4, a three-dimensional folding actuator is representatively shown to sequentially assemble a cube structure over time under solvent conditions.

The three-dimensional folding actuator manufactured through the manufacturing process of FIG. 3 appears as a two-dimensional structure as shown in FIG. 4 (a) before swelling. The non-polar PDMS layer used in the junction forming the cube in the two-dimensional structure is a non-polar hexane solvent condition. The swelling reaction is sequentially performed from (b) to 4 (f) in FIG. 4 (a before swelling, be during swelling, f after swelling).

The driving force of the three-dimensional folding actuator is the swelling reaction between the non-polar PDMS layer and the non-polar hexane solvent, and since the arrangement of the squares of the two-dimensional structure is asymmetric, the thickness of the PDMS layer on the right side of FIG. 4A is thickened. Thus, the force required to assemble the three-dimensional structure can be obtained.

FIG. 5 shows a photograph assembled with a cube, a tetrahedron, and a flat ball when a solvent is provided from various two-dimensional structures.

In the three-dimensional folding actuator represented by three kinds of cubes, pyramids, and flat balls, the portion of the junction where the color of the joint is different is the PDMS layer, and various structures in three dimensions can be realized through the selective swelling reaction of the rod-shaped PDMS layer. The adjustment of the composition ratio and position of the PDMS layer and the PU / HEMA layer is an important variable in assembling the three-dimensional structure from the two-dimensional structure. In addition, since the expansion volume ratio is different depending on the type of polar / non-polar solvent, it is possible to efficiently use the swelling effect by selectively using the solvent according to the slope of each side in the three-dimensional structure.

FIG. 5 (a) shows a two-dimensional structure in which a three-dimensional folding actuator manufactured as described above is formed by arranging a total of six squares in a cross shape. The three-dimensional pyramid actuator shown in (b) of FIG. 5 is composed of four equilateral triangles and is a two-dimensional structure in which three triangles are arranged on each side of the center triangle, and a PDMS layer is positioned on each side of the center triangle. do. The three-dimensional pyramid structure requires that the three triangles require the same force, and that the angle between the faces is small, so that the size of the PDMS layer is larger than other actuators.

The more complex three-dimensional flat ball actuator can implement a flat ball structure from a two-dimensional structure consisting of two hexagons and twelve rhombuses joined to the hexagon, and a PDMS layer is provided at the junction between each side of the hexagon and the left and right rhombuses. Located. Since the two-dimensional structure is symmetrical, the greatest force is required to lift up the part containing one hexagon, and the PDMS layer located between the rhombus and the supporting rhombus and hexagon is important.

Such folding actuators of various types of three-dimensional structures have the advantage that various three-dimensional structures can be assembled by adjusting the composition ratio and position of PDMS and PU / HEMA.

Such a three-dimensional folding actuator has laid the foundation for various morphological changes through the introduction of a hydrogel based on the basic principle of the actuator. In order to implement various types of actuators, various types of symmetrical structures may be manufactured in the manufacturing process, thereby manufacturing various actuators as described above. Such actuators are more integrated and highly functional technologies than conventional actuators, and can be applied to microstructures of nano and micro units.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with reference to drawings according to the preferred embodiment, this invention is not limited to the structure and operation which were demonstrated by embodiment and shown by drawing. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, it is apparent that all such suitable changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention.

The technology is industrially applicable as applicable to technical fields such as electrical, magnetic devices and chemical and biological sensors.

Claims (5)

1. In the manufacturing method of the three-dimensional folding actuator,

   A first step of filling an empty space using an imide film except for a portion to which PDMS is applied;

   A second step of forming a PDMS layer by treating fluorine on surfaces of the imide film and the mold;

   A third step of removing the imide film after thermally curing the PDMS layer;

   A fourth step of forming a hydroxyl functional group and forming a methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane monolayer through an oxygen plasma treatment under the presence of the PDMS layer formed in the mold;

   And a fifth step of performing UV curing by applying a polar PU / HEMA layer.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mold is manufactured using a unit that can be observed by the eye, and the size of the actuator can be manufactured to 100 µm to 1 m.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape of the part occupied by the actuator in the mold is represented by forming a three-dimensional structure to be assembled in a two-dimensional structure, characterized in that the mold is produced by dividing the mold into any one of a cube, a tetrahedron and a flat ball. The manufacturing method of an actuator made into.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the component ratio of PU: HEMA in the PU / HEMA layer is 1-9: 9-1.
5. An actuator manufactured according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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