By Nita Vaidya-Zannino June 27, 2023 Designing the Modular Robots Dr. Bhattacharjee needed to design and fabricate functional modular cubes with magnets embedded in their face that could be manipulated with an external electromagnetic controller. The cubes had 2mm edges with ten 300µm holes for the embedded magnets. For the cubes to operate properly, they needed precise micro-holes in the faces for embedding the magnets. The team turned to high-precision 3D printing with projection micro stereolithography (PµSL) to fabricate the cubes with the precise micro-hole. 3D Printed Modular Cubes Wirelessly Controlling the Cubes Once the functional modular cubes were fabricated with embedded magnets, they were tested in an electromagnetic triaxial Helmholz coil setup for controlled self-assembly, on-demand disassembly, and reconfiguration tasks. The precise motion of the individual cubes is crucial for the successful self-assembly of the modular robots. The precise motion is dependent on the accuracy of the cube’s fabrication. Most standard 3D printers do not provide the required precision and accuracy. Using the microArch S140, Dr. Bhattacharjee could quickly fabricate the cube with accurate dimensions. 3D printed cubes assembled into a modular robot “Within just two weeks, we received our 3D printed parts. The microArch S140 accurately produced the precise dimensions based on our design file. The BMF team’s effective communication enabled us to accelerate our research process and obtain results earlier than anticipated. Given their efficient communication, product delivery, and responsiveness, we highly recommend BMF as a reliable partner for long-term collaboration.” – Anuruddha Bhattacharjee, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University Biological, Actuation, Sensing, and Transport Laboratory The Future The reconfigurable modular robots can be wirelessly manipulated with an external magnetic controller and self-assembled or disassembled on command. The small-scale cubes fabricated with PµSL technology and the availability of biocompatible materials opens possibilities for using magnetic modular robots for surgical tools and biomedical applications. Categories join our List Get all of our latest updates by signing up for our Newsletter.