Finite element analysis of fundamental deformation of robot soft finger.

This paper deals with finite element analysis of fundamental deformation of robot soft finger. The aim of this paper is to develop a simple contact static model of cylindrical soft flexible finger for effective power grasping. In this paper, the geometrical relation connecting different contact parameter, for example, distortion, flexible contact width, and contact angle of developed soft finger are derived. Formula for total force on fundamental deformation has been analyzed using simple mathematics. Selection of appropriate soft elastic material required for modelling of flexible finger is based on fundamental deformation and change in contact width with respect to applied normal load ranges from 0 to 100 N. Experiment is performed for 3 different nonlinear hyper soft elastic materials: Neoprene W, Viton E-60C and Silicone R401/70. Furthermore, deformation of cylindrical finger was determined by performing compression testing for each finger with load step 10 N. Contact width was determined by measuring vivid print observed above the recording paper. Additionally, coefficient of friction (COF) flanked by soft finger and target was measured by performing inclined test. Further, experimental result was successfully validated with finite element simulation performed on ANSYS software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]