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Manipulating the Micro-World - Design and Fabrication of a Small-Scale Force-Sensitive Gripping Device
In the last few decades, miniaturization has been observed to be one of the main driving forces in various sectors of industry. The assembly of micro-sized parts into functional devices is a key engineering challenge. Your task will be to develop a novel gripping device to manipulate such parts.
In the last few decades, miniaturization has been observed to be one of the main driving forces in various
sectors of industry. Some examples include telecommunication, medical technology, and robotics. From an engineering
point of view, working at increasingly small scales bears two key challenges: The manufacturing of micro-sized
parts, and the assembly of these parts into functional devices. For series production, the assembly of such devices
can usually be performed rather cost-effectively with specifically developed, dedicated assembly lines. This however
is no economic solution for the assembly of single, unique prototypes, as they are often being developed in the scope
of research projects. Hence, considerable effort has been put into the engineering of flexible, versatile micro-assembly
systems, which can be used for the assembly of a wide range of different micro-systems. Such systems typically
combine one or several micro-grippers or other tools with a camera system, a moveable working platform, and an
intuitive user interface; an example can be seen in the attached pdf.
In the last few decades, miniaturization has been observed to be one of the main driving forces in various sectors of industry. Some examples include telecommunication, medical technology, and robotics. From an engineering point of view, working at increasingly small scales bears two key challenges: The manufacturing of micro-sized parts, and the assembly of these parts into functional devices. For series production, the assembly of such devices can usually be performed rather cost-effectively with specifically developed, dedicated assembly lines. This however is no economic solution for the assembly of single, unique prototypes, as they are often being developed in the scope of research projects. Hence, considerable effort has been put into the engineering of flexible, versatile micro-assembly systems, which can be used for the assembly of a wide range of different micro-systems. Such systems typically combine one or several micro-grippers or other tools with a camera system, a moveable working platform, and an intuitive user interface; an example can be seen in the attached pdf.
One of the most frequently recurring tasks in micro-assembly is the precise picking and placing of
components. This is conventionally done with the use of micro-grippers or comparable devices; a classic example
can be seen in the attached pdf. However, these devices are typically specialized on grasping only a few particular types of objects,
requiring different grippers to be used during the assembly of an entire system. Furthermore, only few of these devices
are force-sensitive, an indispensable feature for being able to provide the user with intuitive haptic feedback. Your
task will be to develop a novel design of a small-scale force-sensitive gripping device overcoming the aforementioned
limitations, to manufacture it, and to finally validate the functionality of your prototype.
One of the most frequently recurring tasks in micro-assembly is the precise picking and placing of components. This is conventionally done with the use of micro-grippers or comparable devices; a classic example can be seen in the attached pdf. However, these devices are typically specialized on grasping only a few particular types of objects, requiring different grippers to be used during the assembly of an entire system. Furthermore, only few of these devices are force-sensitive, an indispensable feature for being able to provide the user with intuitive haptic feedback. Your task will be to develop a novel design of a small-scale force-sensitive gripping device overcoming the aforementioned limitations, to manufacture it, and to finally validate the functionality of your prototype.