Control of adhesion using surface functionalisations for robotic microhandling

Abstract

Robotic microhandling is a promising way to assemble microcomponents in order to manufacture new generation of Hybrid Micro ElectroMechanical Systems (HMEMS). However, at the scale of several micrometers, adhesion phenomenon highly perturbs the micro-objects release and the positioning. This phenomenon is directly linked to both the object and the gripper surface mechanical and chemical properties. The control of the adhesion properties requires multidisciplinary approaches including roughness control, mechanical properties control and chemical surface functionalisation. We propose to control adhesion by using chemical surface functionalisations by intrinsic conducting polymer electrodeposition or Self-Assembly Monolayer (SAM) and using surface structuration.

Releasing tool-adhered natural fibrous microscale objects with vacuum system

“…Therefore, any gripping methods including heating or cooling on the grippers [19] need to be prevented, since it will directly affect the properties of the fiber. Meanwhile, gripping methods based on non-contact manipulation [16], vacuum force gripping [20] and adhesive control [5][6] [7][8] [9][10] experience difficulties in grasping and straightening the fiber, because of a lack of the gripping force. However, as microgrippers provide a tweezer-type end effector, they can easily grasp one end of a single fiber and separate it from others.…”

“…The parts are all sealed with glue to prevent vacuum leakage. Compared with chemical control releasing [5] and vibration releasing alone [12], vacuum releasing can minimize the influence of the releasing process to the experiment device and the target object. Besides, the vacuum devices are easy to implement and can be modified to fit different applications (e.g.…”

“…To successfully release the object, it is necessary to minimize adhesion forces [4]. Generally, there are four principles which can be used to overcome the adhesion force effects [5]: (1) Adhesion properties control, which includes such multidisciplinary approaches as: chemical surface functionalization [5], This [15]; (4) Using non-contact manipulation to avoid adhesion force [16].…”