Automated Computational Workflow for the Parametric Design and Optimization of a 3D-Printed Fin Ray Effect Soft Robotic Finger

Rodrigo Antunes, Rodrigo Antunes, Luan Lang, Martim Lima de Aguiar, Martim Lima de Aguiar, Nuno José Matos Pereira, Nuno José Matos Pereira, Thiago Assis Dutra, Thiago Assis Dutra, Yebo Lu, Pedro Dinis Gaspar, Pedro Dinis Gaspar

2025

Abstract

The design of soft grippers is challenged by the complex, non-linear coupling of material properties, geometry, and control, rendering traditional design methods inefficient. To address this, this paper presents an automated computational workflow for the parametric design and optimization of a 3D-printed Fin Ray Effect soft robotic gripper finger. The tool establishes a closed-loop digital thread, connecting a web-based parametric design interface using FreeCAD to a finite element analysis backend driven by PyAnsys. A parametric study was conducted, varying the number of internal crossbeams from 1 to 16, to analyse the gripper's performance using an experimentally validated hyperelastic model for TPU 60A. The results show a trade-off between contact pressure and pressure distribution, with an optimal configuration of 14-16 crossbeams identified for applications requiring a gentle grip with low-pressure concentrations. The developed workflow proved to be an effective method for rapidly iterating through designs and identifying an optimal solution, showcasing the power of automated simulation in the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) process.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Antunes R., Lang L., Lima de Aguiar M., Pereira N., Assis Dutra T., Lu Y. and Gaspar P. (2025). Automated Computational Workflow for the Parametric Design and Optimization of a 3D-Printed Fin Ray Effect Soft Robotic Finger. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: COBOTA; ISBN 978-989-758-770-2, SciTePress, pages 577-584. DOI: 10.5220/0013944900003982

in Bibtex Style

@conference{cobota25,
author={Rodrigo Antunes and Luan Lang and Martim Lima de Aguiar and Nuno Pereira and Thiago Assis Dutra and Yebo Lu and Pedro Gaspar},
title={Automated Computational Workflow for the Parametric Design and Optimization of a 3D-Printed Fin Ray Effect Soft Robotic Finger},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: COBOTA},
year={2025},
pages={577-584},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013944900003982},
isbn={978-989-758-770-2},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 2: COBOTA
TI - Automated Computational Workflow for the Parametric Design and Optimization of a 3D-Printed Fin Ray Effect Soft Robotic Finger
SN - 978-989-758-770-2
AU - Antunes R.
AU - Lang L.
AU - Lima de Aguiar M.
AU - Pereira N.
AU - Assis Dutra T.
AU - Lu Y.
AU - Gaspar P.
PY - 2025
SP - 577
EP - 584
DO - 10.5220/0013944900003982
PB - SciTePress