FabHydro: Printing Interactive Hydraulic Devices with an Affordable SLA 3D Printer

We introduce FabHydro, a set of rapid and low-cost methods to prototype interactive hydraulic devices based on an off-the-shelf 3D printer and flexible photosensitive resin. We first present printer settings and custom support structures to warrant the successful print of flexible and deformable objects. We then demonstrate two printing methods to seal the transmission fluid inside these deformable structures: the Submerged Printing process that seals the liquid resin without manual assembly, and the Printing with Plugs method that allows the use of different transmission fluids without modification to the printer. Following the printing methods, we report a design space with a range of 3D printable primitives, including the hydraulic generator, transmitter, and actuator. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approaches and the breadth of new designs that they enable, we showcase a set of examples from a printed robotic gripper that can be operated at a distance to a mobile phone stand that serves as a status reminder by repositioning the user’s phone. We conclude with a discussion of our approach’s limitations and possible future improvements.