Above: A pinch valve actuated by shape memory alloy (SMA) wires to open and seal a tube for industrial applications.
Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are metals that deform when heated and return to their original shape when cooled. Team 15 was sponsored by Festo, an industrial automation leader, to develop an SMA-actuated pinch valve. Our design contracts wrapped SMA wires by running current via a printed circuit board. SMA pinch valves have vast potential in size-restricted applications like small medical devices.
Sponsorship
Sponsored by Festo
Director
Rob MacCurdy
Team Members