Weaving the Smart Braid

The 3D-Printed Template provides a guide for braiding the wires of the Smart Braid. The template was modeled by Kevin Green. It is designed so that the Smart Braid will have an angle of 20 degrees when surrounding a tube with a diameter of 3/8" (9.5 mm).

It requires about 22 ft 8 in of wire to wind the muscle.

The STL files for the template are attached in the "Template" zip file found in the downloads section. See the video below to learn how to use the template.

Materials

Materials for weaving

  • 17 ft wire to weave the braid (22 AWG)
  • One dowel (1/2")
  • Three zip ties
  • 3-D template of Smart Braid

Assembly

Constraining the 3-D templateTemplate up close

First, mark the template with lines perpendicular to the rod axis on alternating levels. For example, the first line would be on the first row of diamonds (bottom most row of diamonds), and the second line would be on the third row of diamonds, and the next line would be on the fifth row, and so on.

Attach the 3-D template to a 1/2" dowel. Use zip ties to constrain the template if needed. Tape one end of the wire (with several inches of slack) to the dowel before braiding.

Half weaved Smart BraidOne end of braid on template

Weave the braid following these rules:

1. The wire will go clockwise around the template (looking at  the top of the template) on a braid.

2. The lines drawn on the template will aid the weaving process.  Start the weaving process from the bottom of the template, at points where a line is drawn on the template, the wire will always be on top. When going back down, from top to bottom, where a line is drawn, the wire will always be underneath. In this way, the wire travelling in one direction will always be over at the first point, under at the next, over again at the following one and so on.

3. When you reach one end of the template (i.e. the top), the wire should continue clockwise towards the opposite direction (i.e. downwards), following the next available groove/'valley' on the template. Occasionally, the next groove/'valley' is unavailable; in that case, make a tiny loop (circled on the right of the second image) and continue weaving in the same circular direction.

Completed Smart BraidSmart Braid removed from template

Once the weaving is done, clip the wires with several inches to spare. Then detach the braid ends from the template to remove the braid.