Impulse-Sealing Plastic Pneumatic Actuators

Please note: this page is a work in progress.

We will use low-pressure pneumatic actuation for a number of experiments and projects in the course. The fastest way to make a simple pouch actuator is to use an impulse sealer to weld together polyethylene sheets.

Summary

The impulse sealer creates an airtight mechanical bond between two sheets of plastic using a combination of heat and pressure.

A good weld depends on several conditions:

  1. fixturing two layers of plastic smoothly in close contact but without excessive tension

  2. adjusting the weld timing to cleanly join without creating a gap or cutting through

  3. designing the weld pattern for airtight reliability and even heat distribution

Useful Tools

  • Impulse sealer

  • Scissors

  • Pen, pencil, sharpie

  • Double stick tape

  • Scotch tape or clear packing tape or duct tape

  • Straw or tube for blowing air

  • Cardboard (can be from boxes)

  • Useful, but not required: x-acto knife or box cutter

../_images/AIE400P-impulse-sealer.jpg

Our large portable impulse sealer is an AEI 400P with a 16 inch seal length.

Materials

  1. Plastic film for heat-sealing:

Templates

Our introductory template demonstrating simple pouch and contraction actuator designs may be found here:

References

The work on this page and the specific design examples were motivated by the following: