A FLEXIBLE MICRO MANUFACTURING SYSTEM FOR MICRO PARTS ASSEMBLY VIA MICRO VISUAL SENSING AND EAP BASED GRASPING

Abstract

In this paper, we developed a flexible micro workcell for micro part assembly and bio materials handling. The primary focus of the research is on the flexible manufacturing system that can handle parts in the size of 100 to 500 μm for various applications. Flexibility in micro assembly, though important, has not been examined in depth due to the complexity of micro operations of small parts. Micro gears, micro glass fibers or fragile bio materials require flexibility in gripping and haptic feedback control for further operation. To that end, we design grippers made out of electro active polymer, controlled by high precision micro manipulator for a novel micro assembly process, namely flexible micro assembly system (FMAS). The areas of research include micro/nano electro-mechanical system (MEMS) material and structure, micro sensor/actuator system, visual feedback control system, micro-robotic arm motion control and flexible micro-gripper system. In order to verify the functional aspect of the FMAS, we made micro mechanical gears fabricated via bulk micromachining technology for 3D micro vision capability and handling precision of micro robotic manipulator.