Micro components are available in a variety of shapes sizing from 1 mm down to 0.01 mm. Today, their mass production is quite common using state of the art production technology. Micro spheres for example, are on the one hand available in lot sizes up to some thousands in a constant quality within micron accuracy. On the other hand they are quite commonly provided as bulk material with diameter variations of up to 10% in each lot size Brandau (Chem Ingenieur Tech 75:1741-1745, 2003). In both cases, the bulk micro components are usually arranged in incoherent batches which are packed in plastic bags or small jars for handling and shipping. The decollating of the single components for follow-up micro assembly processes is complicated by the well-known effects in micro handling such as dominating adhesion and friction forces (Petersen 2003). These effects limit the post processing of bulk micro components to manual work in order to sort and align the single micro components prior to their exposure to an automated assembly line. To enable a sophisticated and automated handling of the single micro components, automated sorting and alignment mechanisms are necessary to arrange the bulk micro components in a well defined pattern structure which is essential to realize an efficient automated micro assembly
Micro components are available in a variety of shapes typically sizing from 1 mm down to 0.01 mm. Their mass production is quite common using state of the art production technology. Micro spheres for example, are on the one hand available in lot sizes up to some thousands in a constant quality within micron accuracy [1]. On the other hand they are quite commonly provided as bulk material with diameter variations of up to 10 % in each lot size [2]. In both cases, the bulk micro components are usually arranged in incoherent batches which are packed in plastic bags or small jars for handling and shipping. The decollating of single components for follow-up micro assembly processes is complicated by the wellknown effects in micro handling such as dominating adhesion and friction forces [3]. These effects limit the post processing of bulk micro components to manual work in order to sort and align the single micro components prior to their exposure to an automated assembly line. To enable a sophisticated and automated handling of the single micro components, automated sorting and alignment mechanisms are necessary to arrange the bulk micro components in a well defined pattern structure which is essential to achieving an efficient automated micro assembly.
Automation solutions ensure determinism and reproducibility for the handling and aligning of work pieces and tools in micro-precision and ultra-precision technologies. Automation in this context means the handling and alignment of parts and tools within the entire process chain to achieve adjustment and alignment accuracies at a level well below 0.5 micron. The exact knowledge about the position and the condition of the work pieces and tools throughout the entire process chain is the key issue in the automated production chain. This knowledge enables the exact referencing of the work piece within the machine tool coordinate system and an offset compensation by the machine tool axes as well as by active work piece clamping devices. The automation solutions enable a cost-effective, ultra-high quality production technology for the achievement of nanometre form accuracies and super smooth surface finishes. These are required for ultra-precise components in biomedical, sensor as well as in consumer goods applications and are revolutionary throughout the world's technologies
Abstract:Conventional machining methods have been developed to meet the standards of ultra precision machining. Special milling processes utilizing monocrystalline diamond tools, the so-called fly-cutting processes, are used successfUlly to manufacture highly precise microstructures with an optical surface finish. In micro assembly often positioning accuracies of only a few micro meters are needed. An approach of the Fraunhofer IPT is to achieve these accuracies using passive alignment strategies. In this paper, the ultra precision machining of the v-groove structures as well as their passive alignment capacities for micro assembly tasks are presented.
Research into structural elements for the passive alignment of microcomponents is an essential part of the framework of the collaborative research center 440 (SFB 440). For this purpose, V-groove structures for the passive alignment of cylindrical microcomponents are in a first step examined theoretically. The theoretical results are then validated by experimental testing. The use of ultra precision engineering processes, such as diamond machining, for the production of passive alignment structures is then introduced and the alignment precision of these structures is measured by the use of glass fibres representing the cylindrical microcomponents and acting as light sources for the optical observation of the alignment accuracy. In addition, these structures are compared with alignment structures which are fabricated through lithographic and micro-electroplating processes
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.