Rapid Manufacturing of High‐Permittivity Dielectric Elastomer Actuator Fibers

Abstract The fast and scalable production of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) remains the major bottleneck preventing the widespread use of DEAs. In this work, an ultra‐fast production method is presented for dielectric elastomer fibers which can reach industrial‐like extrusion speeds of up to 60 mm s −1 of fiber, leading to a production speed of up to 16.7 m of fiber per second or 216 m per hour. Electrode and high permittivity ( ε ${\varepsilon}$ ' = 11.2) dielectric inks are used with a long pot life, but ultra‐fast cross‐linking at elevated temperatures. The process eliminates the need for tedious and time‐consuming post‐processing, as simple co‐extrusion and laser ablation enable the production of fully functional, high‐permittivity DEA fibers within seconds. This work represents a significant advancement in DEA manufacturing, transitioning from conventional layer‐by‐layer batch production to continuous co‐extrusion‐based manufacturing. To the best of the knowledge, this is currently the fastest method for fabricating fully functional DEAs in a single processing step.