Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation
Abstract Laboratory procedures are often considered so unique that automating them is not economically justified – time and resources invested in designing, building and calibrating the machines are unlikely to pay off. This is particularly true if cheap labour force (technicians or students) is ava...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22556-8 |
| _version_ | 1798028556557615104 |
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| author | Przemysław Grabowski Bartosz Fabjanowicz Magdalena Podgórska Mikołaj Rogóż Piotr Wasylczyk |
| author_facet | Przemysław Grabowski Bartosz Fabjanowicz Magdalena Podgórska Mikołaj Rogóż Piotr Wasylczyk |
| author_sort | Przemysław Grabowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Laboratory procedures are often considered so unique that automating them is not economically justified – time and resources invested in designing, building and calibrating the machines are unlikely to pay off. This is particularly true if cheap labour force (technicians or students) is available. Yet, with increasing availability and dropping prices of many off-the-shelf components such as motorised stages, grippers, light sources (LEDs and lasers), detectors (high resolution, fast cameras), as well as user-friendly programmable microprocessors, many of the repeatable tasks may soon be within reach of either custom-built or universal lab robots. Building on our previous work on fabrication, characterization and applications of light-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) in micro-robotics and micro-mechanics, in this paper we present a robotic workstation that can make LCE films with arbitrary molecular orientation. Based on a commercial 3D printer, the RoboLEC (Robot for LCE fabrication) performs precision component handling, structured light illumination, liquid dispensing and UV-triggered polymerization, within a four-hour-long procedure. Thus fabricated films with patterned molecular orientation are compared to the same, but handmade, structures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:11:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d2f2ecdf7ca54b8a82827d4e64b16842 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:11:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-d2f2ecdf7ca54b8a82827d4e64b168422022-12-22T04:07:37ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-10-011211510.1038/s41598-022-22556-8Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstationPrzemysław Grabowski0Bartosz Fabjanowicz1Magdalena Podgórska2Mikołaj Rogóż3Piotr Wasylczyk4Photonic Nanostructure Facility, Faculty of Physics, University of WarsawPhotonic Nanostructure Facility, Faculty of Physics, University of WarsawPhotonic Nanostructure Facility, Faculty of Physics, University of WarsawPhotonic Nanostructure Facility, Faculty of Physics, University of WarsawPhotonic Nanostructure Facility, Faculty of Physics, University of WarsawAbstract Laboratory procedures are often considered so unique that automating them is not economically justified – time and resources invested in designing, building and calibrating the machines are unlikely to pay off. This is particularly true if cheap labour force (technicians or students) is available. Yet, with increasing availability and dropping prices of many off-the-shelf components such as motorised stages, grippers, light sources (LEDs and lasers), detectors (high resolution, fast cameras), as well as user-friendly programmable microprocessors, many of the repeatable tasks may soon be within reach of either custom-built or universal lab robots. Building on our previous work on fabrication, characterization and applications of light-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) in micro-robotics and micro-mechanics, in this paper we present a robotic workstation that can make LCE films with arbitrary molecular orientation. Based on a commercial 3D printer, the RoboLEC (Robot for LCE fabrication) performs precision component handling, structured light illumination, liquid dispensing and UV-triggered polymerization, within a four-hour-long procedure. Thus fabricated films with patterned molecular orientation are compared to the same, but handmade, structures.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22556-8 |
| spellingShingle | Przemysław Grabowski Bartosz Fabjanowicz Magdalena Podgórska Mikołaj Rogóż Piotr Wasylczyk Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation Scientific Reports |
| title | Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation |
| title_full | Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation |
| title_fullStr | Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation |
| title_short | Automated photo-aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low-tech, home-built robotic workstation |
| title_sort | automated photo aligned liquid crystal elastomer film fabrication with a low tech home built robotic workstation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22556-8 |
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