Electromechanical tensile test equipment for stretchable conductive materials

Abstract

The demand for soft and conductive materials has intensified due to the increased interest in soft robotics. Consequently, researchers strive to realize easy, fast, and cost-effective fabrication methods. To evaluate the mechanical properties of materials requires tensile testing. However, the availability of an electromechanical tensile test to assess the quality of the electromechanical properties of stretchable conductive materials has yet to be widely commercialized. This situation has hindered the development of soft and stretchable conductive materials. Here, we develop a customized electromechanical tensile test for soft and stretchable materials. We integrate three standalone devices using Python software and provide a graphic user interface (GUI) for easy operation of the equipment. We expect that our customized electromechanical tensile test will contribute to advances in soft robotics, especially soft and stretchable sensors. Furthermore, our electromechanical setup can aid in the development of laboratory equipment and the understanding of the electromechanical properties of stretchable conductive materials.

Keywords

• Conductive elastomer
• Electromechanical properties
• Soft robotics
• Soft sensor
• Tensile test