Impact Forces Reduction for High-Speed Micro-Assembly

Abstract

During the placement of components in micro-assembly, high impact forces occur. The current approach is to reduce these impact forces by coupling the gripper to the drive unit of the placement device with 5 DOF, wherein the gripper that contacts the component has a relatively low mass. To prevent the gripper from bouncing back at the end of the placement collision a force must be exerted between gripper and drive unit, which can significantly increase the impact forces. A solution has been found to realise an adequate force build-up between gripper and drive unit such that a rebounce of the gripper is prevented without significantly increasing the impact forces. This solution can be implemented relatively easily by placing a spring between gripper and drive unit combined with a force limiter.