Fabrication of the TacTip is straightforward and consists of 5 steps, outlined below. If you are interested instead in buying a ready-made TacTip, contact us by email for a quote.
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1) 3d-printing | 2) Skin | 3) Flesh | 4) LEDs | 5) Camera |
3D-printer
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Laser cutter
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Soldering iron
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Microscope
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Tweezers
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Wire Stripper
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Screwdriver set
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Heat gun
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Image | Description | Qty | Units | Unit Price | Link |
Acrylic sheet (50 mm x50mm) | 1 | each | £2.50 | The Plastic People | |
Loctite 406 glue | 1 | each | £11.82 | Loctite | |
Loctite 770 primer | 1 | each | £17.37 | Loctite | |
Mould release agent | 1 | each | £13.28 | Smooth-on | |
White paint | 1 | each | £1.89 | Humbrol | |
Syringe (20ml) | 1 | pack | £7.20 |
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Blunt-tipped needle | 1 | pack | $9.90 | ||
RTV27905 Silicone gel | 1 | pack | £130.51 | Techsil | |
LED ring | 1 | each | 12 Eur | PCB-Pool | |
Surface mount LEDs | 6 | each | £0.161 | RS | |
Surface mount Resistors | 6 | each | £0.052 | Farnell | |
Cable reels (red and black) | 2 | each | £9.43 | Farnell | |
M3x8mm Screws | 3 | each | £0.04 | AccuGroup | |
Camera | 1 | each | £69.99 | Microsoft | |
Black insulating tape | 1 | each | £1.08 | RS | |
Heat shrink 10m reel | 1 | each | £8.36 | RS | |
USB extension cable | 1 | each | £0.91 | Kenable |
STL files for the 3d-printed parts can be found in the Downloads section for printing, along with Solidworks CAD files for easy modifications.
Note that these parts (specifically the tip, ring and body) need to be printed in a high precision (resolution below 0.1 mm) printer such as the Stratasys Fortus 450mc. All parts are printed in VeroWhite material.
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Once the parts have been printed, check all holes to ensure they are clear of support material. If necessary use a thin screwdriver to clear them. Then screw the base and mount parts together using the M3 screws as shown.
Order a tactip skin from us by contacting us via email. We will send you the skin for a small fee.
Spread a layer of white paint on a piece of acrylic. Insert your thumb in the skin and press on the white paint. Make sure all the pin tips are painted white. |
Thoroughly clean the 3d-printed tip and ring, to remove all traces of support material. This improves glue adhesion and ensures all parts fit together. | Distribute a layer of Loctite 770 primer on the internal rim of the skin and the 3D printed tip to make the surfaces suitable for bonding with an adhesive. | |
Wear gloves. Distribute a fine layer of Loctite 406 glue on the upper rim of the tip. Use a thin strip of a material that will not bond with the glue to do this (e.g.: polypropolene). | Press the rim of the skin over the tip. The bond will form very quickly so ensure the skin is placed in the correct position., flush with the first ledge on the tip. Make sure that no glue is present on the outside of the skin as this would locally reduce the compliance of the sensor. | Make a hole in the skin aligned with the hole in the tip. This hole will be used to inject the gel in the tip. Let the glue dry for at least 10 minutes. |
Apply Loctite 770 primer on the internal diameter of the 3D printed ring and the bottom part of the skin. Spread a thin layer of Loctite 406 glue on the bottom part of the skin. | Slide the 3D printed ring past the rubber dome until it rests on top of the 3D printed tip and apply pressure. | Make sure the hole in the ring aligns with the holes in the tip and skin. Leave the glue to dry for half an hour. | |
Download the lens.dxf file and laser cut the lens from a 3mm thick acrylic sheet, without removing the acrylic's protective film. The edge of the lens will be tapered slightly from the laser cutting process, with one side having a slightly smaller diameter than the other. This side will be pressed into the tip first , and is considered to be the bottom part of the lens. |
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Remove the protective film from the bottom part of the lens, and begin removing the top layer, leaving a flap for easy removal later. |
Apply Loctite glue around the inside lip of the tip.Spread the glue thinly to avoid it contaminating the lens. |
Press the lens into the tip with its small diameter downwards, ensuring it has been pushed all the way down to the lip, and hold until the glue dries. |
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Apply a small amount of glue around the edge of the lens to complete the seal. | Finish removing the top layer of protective film (tweezers can help for this step). |
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Measure out 15g of RTV27905 part A in a plastic cup. | Pour 15g of RTV27905 part B in the same cup. | Mix the 2 components together vigorously. |
Place the mixture in a vacuum chamber for 5-10 min to eliminate bubbles. Note that if you are able to mix the 2 components of the gel within the vacuum chamber, this will result in less air being trapped in the gel. |
Insert the needle into the hole in the side of the tip. Have some kitchen roll ready in case the gel leaks. | Fill the syringe with gel, and wipe it down with kitchen roll to avoid gel coating the outside of the tip. |
Push the syringe into the needle and fill the tip with gel, angling it so that bubbles can escape through the air hole in the tip. |
Once the tip is filled with gel, remove the syringe and plug the hole with the 3d-printed plug. |
Finally, leave to cure for a minimum of 48 hours (if available in an oven at 40 degrees celsius. |
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Order the PCB circuits online at PCB-Pool, using the Eagle file provided. |
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Prepare the soldering station with a microscope, soldering iron with a thin tip, and solder. Ensure you are using an extractor, and have white-tack to hand for fixing the circuit while soldering. |
Apply flux to the circuit (side with the mounting pads). | Choose one of the 6 series of 4 pads, and deposit a small amount of solder on the left-most of the 4 pads as shown. |
Using a pair of tweezers, hold the resistor on the solder and apply heat using the soldering iron to attach it. | Apply solder to the unattached side of the resistor. |
The soldered resistor should now look like this. | |
Next, we will solder the LED, which has directionality. On the top of the LED, a small circle indicates the cathode (negative side). Thus for our circuit, the circle should be on the pad furthest from the resistor. |
Heat the solder on the pad nearest the resistor, and using tweezers as before, solder the LED to the circuit on its anode. | Solder the cathode to the pad furthest away from the resistor to finish the job. |
Check that the LED and resistors are connected as shown. If the solder appears grainy, reapply flux and apply heat with the soldering iron.Then repeat the above steps for the other 5 resistors and LEDs. |
Strip both ends off 25cm length power and ground cables. |
Solder power cable to the through hole which connects to the inside ring on the circuit. | Solder power cable to the through hole which connects to the inside ring on the circuit. |
Cut the ends off both wires. | Place the LED circuit on the 3d-printed body as shown. |
Cut the end of the USB extension cable and the protruding green and white cables. Leave the red and black cables, these corresponding to power and ground, respectively, and will power the LED circuit. | Strip the power and ground wires from the USB cable. |
Cut a small length of heat shrink for each cable, and feed the LED circuit wires through it. Solder the LED circuit wires to the corresponding power and ground wires from the USB cable. | To solder the wires together, first apply some solder to each wire individually. |
Then fix one cable, bring the other cable next to it and apply heat briefly with the soldering iron to solder the wires together. | Using the heat gun, cover the connections with heat shrink. |
The LED circuit is now completed. Plug in the USB cable to a computer and ensure that all 6 LEDs light up. |
Remove the webcam's clip using a phillips precision screxdriver. Keep hold of the small screw. |
Cover the blue light on the front of the webcam with black tape. | Slide the camera into the top of the TacTip mount as shown, and use the small screw to secure it to the mount. |
Attach the tip with its bayonet mount. The TacTip is now fully assembled!
Note that the 3 extra vertical holes in the design are to enable the TacTip to be attached to robot arms through custom designed mounts. The following part is included as an example, and allows for attachment on an ABB IRB120 industrial robot arm: ABB Mount.