Industries /// Robotics
Design Past The Limits of Assembly with VCJ™
Rigid structure, elastomeric skin, integrated tendons and seals, produced in a single build. Vision-Controlled Jetting (VCJ) is the only additive platform proven to print functional robotic systems combining soft and rigid materials, validated in peer-reviewed research published in Nature.
WHY INKBIT FOR ADVANCED ROBOTICS?
Robotics teams need parts that do more.
Inkbit enables engineers to consolidate assemblies, combine rubber-like and rigid materials, and manufacture complex geometries that conventional processes struggle to produce economically.
Reduce Assembly
Next-gen competitive advantage: rigid and rubber-like materials together in a single production workflow.
Design Freely
Unlock internal channels, lattices, living hinges, compliant mechanisms, and integrated features.
Iterate Faster
Prototype functional robotic hardware without waiting for tooling, molds, or multi-supplier assemblies.
Accelerated Output
Move from prototype to production using the same digital manufacturing platform.
Applications
From End Effectors to Monolithic Functional Assemblies
EOAT
Grippers & End-of-Arm Tooling
Custom EOAT with compliant fingertips, integrated suction channels, and rigid mounting interfaces printed as one part. Iterate gripper geometry per SKU without tooling cost.
Actuation
Soft Actuators & Bellows
Pneumatic actuators, bellows, and membranes in TEPU with leak-tight walls and repeatable wall thickness, enabled by contact-free layer inspection.
Sealing
Integrated Seals & Compliant Mechanisms
Gaskets, dampers, and living hinges printed directly into rigid housings. Eliminate seal installation as an assembly step and a failure mode.
Enclosures
Sensor & Electronics Housings
Ruggedized enclosures with overmolded-style strain relief, vibration isolation, and snap features. Titan Chem where washdown or chemical exposure applies.
Biomimetic
Humanoid & Biomimetic Structures
Tendon-driven mechanisms, anatomical joints, and elastomeric skins with graded stiffness. The architecture validated in the Nature publication, available as a service.
Tooling
Custom Automation Tooling
Fixtures, nests, and part-contact tooling with soft interfaces that protect finished surfaces. Fast turnaround for line changeovers and new product introductions.
Featured Proof /// Peer-Reviewed & Published in Nature
Robotic Hand with Rigid Bones and Elastic Ligaments. Printed in One Continuous Build.
In 2023, researchers at ETH Zurich and Inkbit published "Vision-controlled jetting for composite systems and robots" in Nature. The team printed a tendon-driven robotic hand with rigid bones and elastic ligaments in one continuous build, along with a six-legged walking robot with integrated sensors and a pump modeled on the human heart.
The enabling breakthrough was VCJ itself: contact-free jetting with closed-loop vision made slow-curing, high-elongation polymers printable alongside rigid structures for the first time.
This was not a demonstration piece. It was validation that complete electromechanical-ready robotic structures can leave the printer as functional systems.
MATERIAL PORTFOLIO
Rigid, Soft, and Dielectric Material Options
TEPU 30A Elastomer
Exceptional Flexibility & Tempature Range
Production-grade elastomers for parts that demand flexibility, resilience, and repeatable mechanical behavior. TEPU prints seals, gaskets, bellows, living hinges, and compliant interfaces without molding.
Titan Tough Epoxy 85
Rigid Epoxy - Structural Builds
High-performance structural resin for parts where strength, stiffness, and environmental durability are non-negotiable. Titan Tough 85 is the general-purpose default for functional hardware.
TEPU 50A Elastomer
Chemical & Environmental Resistance
TEPU 50A adds validated UV stability and chemical resistance, retaining roughly 90 percent of baseline elongation after 1,000 hours of UV aging, with low weight gain across oils, water, and common solvents.
Titan Chem Epoxy
Chemical Resistant Epoxy - Structural Builds
Titan Chem passed ISO 10993-5 cytotoxicity testing and shows minimal swelling across motor oil, sulfuric acid, NaOH, hexane, and isopropyl alcohol, supporting fluid-handling manifolds, fixtures, and electronics enclosures.
Cyclic Olefin Thermoset
Tunable Low-Loss Dielectric
An intrinsically low-loss dielectric for radio frequency, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications where signal integrity is critical. COT enables additive manufacturing of RF components that traditionally require complex machining or multi-step fabrication, and it tunes effective permittivity through lattice geometry.
The Inkbit Platform
From digital design to production-ready parts.
I
Construct Software
Prepare complex lattices, material placement, and production builds.
II
Digital
Materials
Combine rigid and rubber-like behaviors for complex functional robotic parts.
III
Inkbit
Digital Factory
Manufacture high resolution elastomeric+rigid multi-functional components.
IV
VCJ
Smart-Vision
Use closed-loop machine vision to inspect and correct every layer.
V
Production
Scale Output
Move faster from prototype iterations to functional part production.
