Fabrication, and Experimental Evaluation of Shape Memory Alloy Based Spring Actuators for Laparoscopic Grippers

This work contributes to a novel method of manufacturing a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based spring actuators for Laparoscopic grippers. The actuator was manufactured using a novel fixturing method followed by a heat treatment process. Afterwards, the developed actuator samples were tested using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for transformation temperature investigation and Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) was performed to account for the elemental composition of the utilized SMA material. The characterized spring actuator element is coupled to a gripper manufactured by a combination of conventional manufacturing and rapid prototyping techniques. A testing apparatus was introduced which was used to evaluate the operation of the gripper. Finally, the sustainability in SMA based actuation technologies was highlighted using inherent properties of the SMA materials.