One Response to “Shadow Robot Company: Air Muscles”

1. Marie De Ryck Says:
   December 15th, 2006 at 3:46 am

   The Air Muscle is an extraordinary actuator that is small, light, simple and ‘friendly’. It is soft, has no stiction, is easily controllable and exceptionally powerful.

   The Shadow Air Muscle is a simple yet powerful device for providing a pulling force. It behaves in a very similar way to a biological muscle. When actuated with a supply of compressed air, they contract by up to 40% of its original length. The force it provides decreases as it contracts, and the first few percent of the contraction is very powerful indeed.

   Animation of the Shadow Air Muscle - by Mark Worsdall
   The simplest use of an Air Muscle is to move a lever. One muscle will pull the lever in one direction, and a spring can return it. Two muscles will allow the lever to be pulled in either direction, with considerable force. Because the muscle contracts over a known distance, it can be used to provide a safe movement: there is no need to ensure that the lever is not going to be rotated beyond its end-stop, because the muscle will only move the lever to its set up angle.

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