Design and performance evaluation of additively manufactured metal and polymer microgrippers

Abstract

This work presents the evaluation of macro sized metal and newlinepolymer based microgrippers of various shapes such as circular, square and newlinerectangular, which can hold the circular, square and rectangular newlinemicrocomponents. The developed microgrippers can be used effectively as newlineholding devices in mechanical environments and also in the assembly of newlinemicrocomponents. Microgrippers are designed and analyzed using newlineSOLIDWORKS and COMSOL Multiphysics respectively. Fabrication of newlinemetal based microgrippers are carried out using the direct metal laser newlinesintering process and polymer based microgrippers using the polyjet printing newlineprocess. A microgripper consists of six gripping arms in order to prevent the newlineslipping of the microcomponents during handling. Microgrippers are actuated newlineby means of specially designed actuation systems. Fabricated microgrippers newlineare characterized for gripping displacements, gripping forces and fatigue life newlineand the results are compared with those of the simulation and analytical work. newlineIt is observed that the displacements of the gripping arms of the fabricated newlinemicrogrippers are four times higher than those of the input displacements of newlinethe actuator. This is found to be in a higher order than that of reported in the newlineliterature. Further, the microgrippers were tested in micro-drilling, newlinemicrowelding and microrobotic manipulator as micro-chuck and microelectrode newlineholder and microgripper respectively and they were found to be newlineworking satisfactorily. newline newline