Nylon fibres ‘can aid creation of affordable artificial muscles’

Artificial muscles could be created much more easily and affordably than ever before using a new technique that utilises common nylon fibres.

Research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has shown how ordinary nylon fibre can be shaped and heated in a particular way to create materials that contract and expand in the same way that natural muscle fibres do.

The team took ordinary nylon fishing line and compressed it to change its cross-section from round to rectangular or square, before selectively heating one side to cause the fibre to bend in a specific direction. Changing the direction of the heating allowed the fibre to produce complex motions.

This material can maintain its performance after at least 100,000 bending cycles, and is able to bend and retract at a speed of at least 17 cycles per second.

Applications for these fibres might include self-adjusting catheters or other biomedical devices, as well as mechanical systems such as vehicle exterior panels, or clothing that can change shape to offer optimal fit.

Geoffrey Spinks, a professor at the University of Wollongong in Australia who was not connected with this research, said: "Bending-type actuators are needed for robotic grippers, microscopic tools and various machine components. These new bending actuators could have immediate application."

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