The thesis presents research carried out in the field of design for microassembly (DFIlA), a field that has hereto been characterised by the absence of well defined methodologies intended to facilitate transfer of prototypes from the research lab to production on industrial scale. A DFIlA methodology has been developed, serving the purpose of integrating product and micro assembly process development. It aims in particular at increasing the efficiency of the microproduct development process, decreasing the development time and the product and process cost, and enhancing the product quality.Chapter 1 presents the motivations, objectives, and structure of the thesis. The work carried out is inspired by the need to overcome barriers currently existing between the making of single research products and production on an industrial level. The main objective is to contribute to the creating of a novel DFIlA that supports product design and process selection, thereby facilitating the efficient assembly of complex three-dimensional miniaturised devices. This is complemented by a range of secondary targets that deal with the development and verification of supporting methods and models related to DFIlA.The summary of a comprehensive literature review is given in chapter 2. The survey provides results of studies closely related to the work reported in this thesis and relates that work to a larger ongoing dialogue about the topic of assembly and design in the microworld.

A lack of well defined Design for Microassembly (DF^iA) methodologies to enable an increased transfer of prototypes from the research lab to production on industrial scale has been identified. The main benefit of such a methodology is the adaptation of the design by matching it with microassembly process characteristics. In addition there needs to be a push in metrology equipment to respond to the ongoing trend of miniaturisation, enabling quality assurance for three dimensional products with nanometer scale features. The presented paper addresses these two gaps by utilising a novel DFjuA methodology to enable a state-of-the-art CMM stylus assembly, which is characterised by extremely rigid and challenging requirements. The design of the parts to be assembled is shown. Furthermore the selection of the most suitable assembly equipment is supported. Finally the actual assembly system is described and illustrated as proof of validation.

The 21st century sees significant breakthroughs in fabricating micro devices in the quest of miniaturising. Most micro parts have been manufactured in the range of less than 1mm. However, they are built based on material that is process dependant, resulting in monolithic parts. For example the Integrated Circuits, Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) are silicon based, and on their own do not constitute a complex system that requires various functions. To pursue fully functional and miniaturised complex devices, microassembly is therefore necessary. However, microassembly processes differ from the assembly processes in the macro world. Microassembly encounters sticking effects in parts handling, adhesive forces from electrostatic attraction, van der Walls forces and surface tension [1, 2]. This paper envisions microassembly processes by using an innovative approach. It departs from the traditional assembly process by utilising the Projection Micro Stero Lithography, with a positioning algorithm to assemble micro parts without traditional handling and joining, named in situ microassembly process.

ZusammenfassungDie Komplexität und Dynamik des Umfeldes, in dem sich Fußballvereine bewegen, hat in der Vergangenheit enorm zugenommen. Um bei dieser Entwicklung wettbewerbsfähig zu bleiben, bedarf es entsprechender Konzepte zur Unterstützung der Unternehmensführung. So hat die durchgeführte empirische Untersuchung ihren Fokus auf das Controlling als ein unterstützendes Konzept zur zielorientierten Unternehmenssteuerung gelegt. Ziel dieser Untersuchung ist es, das Controlling in Fußballvereinen zu beschreiben und zu analysieren.

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