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Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review

Rollo Pattinson, Nathan Ellmer, Mokarram Hossain Orcid Logo, Rogelio Ortigosa, Jesús Martínez-Frutos, Antonio Gil Orcid Logo, Anil Bastola Orcid Logo

Additive Manufacturing Letters, Volume: 14, Start page: 100304

Swansea University Authors: Rollo Pattinson, Nathan Ellmer, Mokarram Hossain Orcid Logo, Antonio Gil Orcid Logo, Anil Bastola Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.addlet.2025.100304

Abstract

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have attracted the interest of researchers in soft robotics and biomimetics, due to their versatile capabilities, explored through numerical analysis and experimentation. Advances in computational simulation techniques have accelerated numerical studies on DEAs,...

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Published in: Additive Manufacturing Letters
ISSN: 2772-3690
Published: Elsevier BV 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69962
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spelling 2025-08-04T13:57:06.2744113 v2 69962 2025-07-15 Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review 4b7c1d2fc7cb684b79110f60a6cc9add Rollo Pattinson Rollo Pattinson true false da413556083b41e614a5d2264a0124dd Nathan Ellmer Nathan Ellmer true false 140f4aa5c5ec18ec173c8542a7fddafd 0000-0002-4616-1104 Mokarram Hossain Mokarram Hossain true false 1f5666865d1c6de9469f8b7d0d6d30e2 0000-0001-7753-1414 Antonio Gil Antonio Gil true false 6775d40c935b36b92058eb10d6454f1a 0000-0002-5598-0849 Anil Bastola Anil Bastola true false 2025-07-15 Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have attracted the interest of researchers in soft robotics and biomimetics, due to their versatile capabilities, explored through numerical analysis and experimentation. Advances in computational simulation techniques have accelerated numerical studies on DEAs, enabling even design optimisation for improved performance. However, as computational models grow in sophistication, the fabrication methods required often exceed the capabilities of traditional manufacturing. Additive manufacturing, in particular 3D printing, offers a promising solution to the challenges of realising intricate multi-functional designs developed through topology optimisation. Its precision and ability to create complex geometries make it well-suited for translating computational designs into functional DEA devices. This mini-review examines recent progress in 3D printing for DEA fabrication, emphasising its role in bridging the gap between computational design and physical devices. It also highlights emerging technologies and key challenges that must be addressed to fully realise topologically optimised DEA designs. Journal Article Additive Manufacturing Letters 14 100304 Elsevier BV 2772-3690 Dielectric elastomer actuators; Additive manufacturing; Topology optimisation; Electro-active polymers 30 7 2025 2025-07-30 10.1016/j.addlet.2025.100304 Short review COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University External research funder(s) paid the OA fee (includes OA grants disbursed by the Library) The authors wish to acknowledge the support provided by the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). A.J. Gil also wishes to acknowledge The Leverhulme Trust Foundation (UK) through a Leverhulme Fellowship. R. Ortigosa and J. Martínez-Frutos acknowledge funding received from grant PID2022-141957OA-C22 funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033/ and by ‘‘ERDF A way of making Europe’’. R. Ortigosa also acknowledges the support provided by the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, Spain, through the programme for the development of scientific and technical research by competitive groups (21996/PI/22), included in the Regional Program for the Promotion of Scientific and Technical Research of Fundación Séneca - Agencia de Ciencia Tecnología de la Región de Murcia. M. Hossain acknowledges the support of the EPSRC via a Standard Grant (EP/Z535710/1) and the Royal Society (UK) through the International Exchange Grant (IEC/NSFC/211316). 2025-08-04T13:57:06.2744113 2025-07-15T09:48:05.2650675 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Rollo Pattinson 1 Nathan Ellmer 2 Mokarram Hossain 0000-0002-4616-1104 3 Rogelio Ortigosa 4 Jesús Martínez-Frutos 5 Antonio Gil 0000-0001-7753-1414 6 Anil Bastola 0000-0002-5598-0849 7 69962__34908__9f640f454e9d48919b6a16b2bdc6340f.pdf 69962.VOR.pdf 2025-08-04T13:53:14.4225324 Output 3475502 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
spellingShingle Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
Rollo Pattinson
Nathan Ellmer
Mokarram Hossain
Antonio Gil
Anil Bastola
title_short Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
title_full Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
title_fullStr Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
title_full_unstemmed Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
title_sort Towards fully 3D printed dielectric elastomer actuators—A mini review
author_id_str_mv 4b7c1d2fc7cb684b79110f60a6cc9add
da413556083b41e614a5d2264a0124dd
140f4aa5c5ec18ec173c8542a7fddafd
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6775d40c935b36b92058eb10d6454f1a
author_id_fullname_str_mv 4b7c1d2fc7cb684b79110f60a6cc9add_***_Rollo Pattinson
da413556083b41e614a5d2264a0124dd_***_Nathan Ellmer
140f4aa5c5ec18ec173c8542a7fddafd_***_Mokarram Hossain
1f5666865d1c6de9469f8b7d0d6d30e2_***_Antonio Gil
6775d40c935b36b92058eb10d6454f1a_***_Anil Bastola
author Rollo Pattinson
Nathan Ellmer
Mokarram Hossain
Antonio Gil
Anil Bastola
author2 Rollo Pattinson
Nathan Ellmer
Mokarram Hossain
Rogelio Ortigosa
Jesús Martínez-Frutos
Antonio Gil
Anil Bastola
format Journal article
container_title Additive Manufacturing Letters
container_volume 14
container_start_page 100304
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2772-3690
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.addlet.2025.100304
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have attracted the interest of researchers in soft robotics and biomimetics, due to their versatile capabilities, explored through numerical analysis and experimentation. Advances in computational simulation techniques have accelerated numerical studies on DEAs, enabling even design optimisation for improved performance. However, as computational models grow in sophistication, the fabrication methods required often exceed the capabilities of traditional manufacturing. Additive manufacturing, in particular 3D printing, offers a promising solution to the challenges of realising intricate multi-functional designs developed through topology optimisation. Its precision and ability to create complex geometries make it well-suited for translating computational designs into functional DEA devices. This mini-review examines recent progress in 3D printing for DEA fabrication, emphasising its role in bridging the gap between computational design and physical devices. It also highlights emerging technologies and key challenges that must be addressed to fully realise topologically optimised DEA designs.
published_date 2025-07-30T05:29:35Z
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