Methods to create and control shape memory alloy wire actuators as reference design for makers

Abstract

Today, maker culture as an extension of DIY culture is rapidly spreading in the world with the advent of opensource hardware. Makers currently learn and use practical skills based on different reference designs that are available to makers through the Internet. However, Reference design of SMAs for makers is not provided sufficiently despite commercial applications for shape memory alloys (SMAs) in different industrial fields. The objective of this research was to develop reference design for actuators based on SMA wires so that makers could easily and quickly utilize and learn. This research began by exploring different cases of actuators based on SMA wires. Through these case studies, we extracted essential parameters and classified cases into the essential parameters in order to develop reference design for actuators based on SMA wires. In order to prove the validity of reference design developed in this research, this reference design was subjected to experiments and tested. © 2016 American Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved.