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Micromachines
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Microgrippers
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Microgrippers

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E：Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2021) | Viewed by 8899

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Nicola Pio Belfiore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, Roma Tre University, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: functional design; MEMS/NEMS; dynamic simulation of multi-body systems; robotics; topology; tribology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The progressive miniaturization of grasping devices is opening new frontiers in very different fields of application, such as biology, surgery, drug delivery, diagnosis, manufacturing, assembly, automotive, and aerospace. Unfortunately, the design criteria generally adopted at the macroscale cannot also be applied at the microscale, mainly because of significant scaling phenomena that make motion and actuation rather difficult to achieve, and so we must arrive at a new paradigm for design. Although there is a large variety of micro- and nanogrippers described in the scientific literature, most of them have just one degree of freedom (DoF) and limited dexterity, while in some applications multiple DoFs and high dexterity would be greatly welcome.

Increasing the number of DoFs or dexterity is still a challenge in microsystem design because it generally requires a greater number of hinges or a more complex geometry. In fact, motion in MEMS or NEMS relies on material compliance. For example, lumped or distributed compliance can be adopted to provide a microgripper with a certain mobility capacity. In both cases, the mechanical structure must be conveniently shaped in order to guarantee both compliance and resistance, with a consequent increase in the geometrical complexity. Therefore, the mechanical design becomes an important phase in the development of a microgripper. On the other hand, a more complicated geometry gives rise to difficult problems in fabrication, and this is still a challenge.

For all these reasons, the present Special Issue is open to original contributions that will help to cope with these problems. In particular, this Special Issue is dedicated to the proposal of  new microgrippers, their simulation and experimental testing, and finally to the technological processes for fabrication they require.

Prof. Dr. Nicola Pio Belfiore
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microfabrication
  • nanofabrication
  • microsystem design
  • microgrippers
  • nanogrippers
  • tweezers

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4545 KiB  
Article
Coupled Finite Element-Finite Volume Multi-Physics Analysis of MEMS Electrothermal Actuators
by Thomas Sciberras, Marija Demicoli, Ivan Grech, Bertram Mallia, Pierluigi Mollicone and Nicholas Sammut
Micromachines 2022, 13(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13010008 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3118
Abstract
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are the instruments of choice for high-precision manipulation and sensing processes at the microscale. They are, therefore, a subject of interest in many leading industrial and academic research sectors owing to their superior potential in applications requiring extreme precision, as [...] Read more.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are the instruments of choice for high-precision manipulation and sensing processes at the microscale. They are, therefore, a subject of interest in many leading industrial and academic research sectors owing to their superior potential in applications requiring extreme precision, as well as in their use as a scalable device. Certain applications tend to require a MEMS device to function with low operational temperatures, as well as within fully immersed conditions in various media and with different flow parameters. This study made use of a V-shaped electrothermal actuator to demonstrate a novel, state-of-the-art numerical methodology with a two-way coupled analysis. This methodology included the effects of fluid–structure interaction between the MEMS device and its surrounding fluid and may be used by MEMS design engineers and analysts at the design stages of their devices for a more robust product. Throughout this study, a thermal–electric finite element model was strongly coupled to a finite volume model to incorporate the spatially varying cooling effects of the surrounding fluid (still air) onto the V-shaped electrothermal device during steady-state operation. The methodology was compared to already established and accepted analysis methods for MEMS electrothermal actuators in still air. The maximum device temperatures for input voltages ranging from 0 V to 10 V were assessed. During the postprocessing routine of the two-way electrothermal actuator coupled analysis, a spatially-varying heat transfer coefficient was evident, the magnitude of which was orders of magnitude larger than what is typically applied to macro-objects operating in similar environmental conditions. The latter phenomenon was correlated with similar findings in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microgrippers)
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21 pages, 16099 KiB  
Article
Design, Fabrication, Testing and Simulation of a Rotary Double Comb Drives Actuated Microgripper
by Nicola Pio Belfiore, Alvise Bagolini, Andrea Rossi, Gabriele Bocchetta, Federica Vurchio, Rocco Crescenzi, Andrea Scorza, Pierluigi Bellutti and Salvatore Andrea Sciuto
Micromachines 2021, 12(10), 1263; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12101263 - 17 Oct 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2594
Abstract
This paper presents the development of a new microgripper actuated by means of rotary-comb drives equipped with two cooperating fingers arrays. The microsystem presents eight CSFH flexures (Conjugate Surface Flexure Hinge) that allow the designer to assign a prescribed motion to the gripping [...] Read more.
This paper presents the development of a new microgripper actuated by means of rotary-comb drives equipped with two cooperating fingers arrays. The microsystem presents eight CSFH flexures (Conjugate Surface Flexure Hinge) that allow the designer to assign a prescribed motion to the gripping tips. In fact, the adoption of multiple CSFHs gives rise to the possibility of embedding quite a complex mechanical structure and, therefore, increasing the number of design parameters. For the case under study, a double four-bar linkage in a mirroring configuration was adopted. The presented microgripper has been fabricated by using a hard metal mask on a Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) wafer, subject to DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) process, with a vapor releasing final stage. Some prototypes have been obtained and then tested in a lab. Finally, the experimental results have been used in order to assess simulation tools that can be used to minimize the amount of expensive equipment in operational environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microgrippers)
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11 pages, 2833 KiB  
Article
Heat Transfer Scale Effect Analysis and Parameter Measurement of an Electrothermal Microgripper
by Lin Lin, Hao Wu, Liwei Xue, Hao Shen, Haibo Huang and Liguo Chen
Micromachines 2021, 12(3), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12030309 - 15 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2224
Abstract
An electrothermal microgripper is an important actuator in microelectromechanical and micro-operating systems, and its temperature field analysis is the core problem in research and design. Because of the small size of an electrothermal microgripper, its microscale heat transfer characteristics are different from those [...] Read more.
An electrothermal microgripper is an important actuator in microelectromechanical and micro-operating systems, and its temperature field analysis is the core problem in research and design. Because of the small size of an electrothermal microgripper, its microscale heat transfer characteristics are different from those of the macrostate. At present, only a few studies on the heat transfer scale effect in electrothermal microgrippers have been conducted, and the heat transfer analysis method under the macrostate is often used directly. The temperature field analysed and simulated is different from the actual situation. In the present study, the heat transfer mechanism of an electrothermal microgripper in the microscale was analysed. The temperature field of a series of microscale heating devices was measured using microthermal imaging equipment, and the heat transfer parameters of the microscale were fitted. Results show that the natural convective heat transfer coefficient of air on the microscale can reach 60–300 times that on the macroscale, which is an important heat transfer mode affecting the temperature field distribution of the electrothermal microgripper. Combined with the finite element simulation software, the temperature field of the electrothermal microgripper could be accurately simulated using the experimental microscale heat transfer parameters measured. This study provides an important theoretical basis and data support for the optimal design of the temperature controller of the electrothermal microgripper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microgrippers)
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