Here is a spring steel beam snapping from one stable shape to another in our bending tester as it goes past the critical angle. The beam is about 5 cm long and vibrates at 240 Hz. Thanks to Roger Bradshaw and Bill Hnat for the slow-motion video.
Category Archives: Lab News
Selective heating with two types of nanoparticles
Our paper “Wavelength specific excitation of gold nanoparticle thin films” came out and is available online. Working with gold nanoplates from our collaborators in the O’Toole group, we are looking at thermal expansion in thin films as a way to bend microscale beams. These nanoparticles can be highly wavelength selective. We found that we could …
Continue reading “Selective heating with two types of nanoparticles”
Bending some beams
We are looking at thin-film beams embedded in flexible surfaces. Not only can these beams act as micro-switches, but they can quickly jump to a new shape if the curvature of the surface changes. Their “snap-through” behavior is controlled by the amount of compression put into the beam at fabrication time. The concept works for …
Make 3D electrodes to drive and detect things in microfluidics
AES2013 Harnett plenary talk: Electrodes for microfluidic applications from cindyharnett
Design it online without installing anything
Here is a 3D printable inflatable actuator dipped in silicone to make it airtight. This could be an alternative to casting for making soft actuators. There are some annoying things about designing sensors and actuators, and sharing those designs. One big problem is getting everyone on a project set up with the right software to …
Continue reading “Design it online without installing anything”