A micro transmission system based on combination of micro elastic structures and ratchet mechanism

Abstract

movement in micro/meso systems. However, under the influence of the size-effect, new approaches are required to design and fabricate such systems. In (Shibaike 1995), Shibaike presented a way to design micro-mechanisms, in which he focused on three design factors, i.e. device configuration, materials and fabrication processes. Dario et al. in (1992) gave a clear definition about the micromechanisms, micro-machines and micro-robots, as well as a general classification of the micro actuators used in those micro systems. Using surface-micromachining technology, Mehregany and Tai (1991) successfully fabricated some traditional mechanisms such as micro linkages, micro gear trains and micro motors. Fabricated with the same technology, the torsional ratcheting actuating systems (TRA) (Barnes et al 2000; Tanner 2001; Sacks and Barnes 2001) used the ratchet mechanism and elastic micro structures in order to generate rotational motion from the reciprocating motion of the electrostatic combdrive actuators (ECAs). Because of the fact that those micro systems were fabricated by the surface-micromachining technology and have complex multi-layer structure, they also have some disadvantages such as complicated fabrication process and limited power transmission ability. With the same goal of design gearing micro-mechanisms, Phuc and Dzung (2013) chose silicon on insulator-MEMS (SOI-MEMS) technology instead of surface process in those gear trains designed by Polosky et al. (1998);Rogers (1998) and Sniegowski and Garcia (1996). Kim et al. in (2005) also applied the bulk-micromachining technology on a SOI wafer to fabricate an inchworm motor, in which electrostatic micro actuators and silicon spring structures were used to create high-resolution movement of the shuttle. In those micro systems, elastic structures such as beams, springs etc. are indispensable components.Abstract This paper presents a design, fabrication and performance of a silicon micro transmission system based on the micro electro-mechanical system technology. The system consists of six electrostatic shaking motors. With elastic structures and two ratchet mechanisms on both sides, the micro container (450 µm in length and 220 µm in width) can be driven forward with different velocities. The kinematic and force analyses of the system were performed in order to find out the moving condition of the container. The velocity of the micro container was tested with the driving frequencies up to 40 Hz at the driving voltage of V pp = 120 V and the obtained maximum displacement was about 2.2 mm. The micro transmission system with the cover size of 5 × 5 mm 2 can be applied in bioengineering for carrying and classifying micro/nano samples, etc.

Positioning Performance of a Sub-Arc-Second Micro-Drive Rotary System

“…For engineering application convenience (for example, the programming in CNC), the coefficient of ∆v in Equations ( 15)-( 17) was averaged because of its good linearity, and the transformation motion of the system can be described as in Equation (18). ∆θ = 0.6632∆v (18) The resolution of the angular motion of the system can be calculated from the resolution of the piezoelectric ceramics in Table 1 (converted from nanometer to micron) combined with Equation ( 18): 0.0003 × 0.6332 = 0.00019 . Therefore, the resolution of the angular motion of the system is 0.00019 .…”

“…The drive motion equation of the system in Equation ( 4), the transformation motion equation of the system in Equation (18), and the positioning motion equation of the system can be analyzed as:…”

“…Thus far, the macro/micro dual-drive system has resolved the contradiction between large motion travel and high motion precision, being able to provide motion with large travel and high precision, and the macro/micro dual-drive system has been used widely in high-technology fields such as the advanced war industry, biological medicine, and precision electronics [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. In the macro/micro dual-drive system, the micro-drive system can compensate for the motion error of the macro-drive system and provide high-precision motion for the macro/micro dual-drive system [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Micro-scale Realization of Compliant Mechanisms: Manufacturing Processes and Constituent Materials—A Review

“…The reported CMMs fabricated via bulk micromachining cover many different categories, for example, nanopositioners, microgrippers, micromanipulators, bistable mechanisms, and motion amplifiers [26,28,55,56,[58][59][60][61]. Owing to the high maturity of the silicon process, a variety of actuation methods can be incorporated into bulk micromachined CMMs, for example, electrostatic actuation, electrothermal actuation, piezoelectric actuation, and shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation.…”