The systematic design and fabrication of a three-chopstick microgripper

Abstract

In this study, we constructed a new type of gripper for micron-sized objects using piezoelectric multi-layer benders. This new gripper is composed of three chopsticks: two are designed to grip microobjects, and the third is used to help grasp and release the objects. It is well known that a micro-object is much easier to grasp than to release. Electrostatic, van der Waals forces and surface tension between the chopsticks and object are believed to be the main causes of adhesion. We introduced a third auxiliary chopstick to overcome these surface effects and to reduce the electrostatic forces between the object and chopsticks. All three chopsticks were made of tungsten wires with ends sharpened by etching, which minimises the van der Waals effect. We constructed a threechopstick gripper for micro-objects and tested its functionality by holding and releasing a 100-micron diameter object. The experiment showed that the third auxiliary chopstick functions effectively.

Noise characterization in millimeter sized micromanipulation systems

“…Numerous solutions are possible: designing environmental isolation platforms [17] [18], considering noise limitation during the design of micromanipulation systems by an appropriate choice of the resonance frequency of end effectors [19], or using appropriate controllers for noise rejection [20]. Multi-noise isolation platforms are generally very expansive and have a limited volume which can be a real problem if a micromanipulation station requires a large working space [21].…”

Mechanical Response of Four-Bar Linkage Microgrippers with Bidirectional Electrostatic Actuation

“…However, in many of these fields the analysis of the vibrations is essential on both negative and positive effects. In fact, the induced vibrations can lead to significant positioning errors [50,51] or undesirable contacts between the fingers. Likewise, jaws vibrations can be exploited to release micro objects [52] or to analyse the mechanical characteristics of the soft biological tissues to study possible pathologies [53].…”

An Untethered Magnetic Microgripper for High‐Throughput Micromanipulation

“…[1] Further, the controllability and adaptivity of the untethered designs of this device facilitated them as a promising tool for several applications such as particle manipulation [2][3][4] and micro-assembly. [5][6][7] Meanwhile, a strong emphasis has been provided on understanding different aspects of the microgrippers, DOI: 10.1002/admt.202400292 including the design, [8] fabrication, [9] and assembly [10] that can ease the overall challenges, such as complex structures, amplified stiffness, slow response time, and limited manipulations. Notably, most of the mentioned challenges are determined by the type of actuation methods [11][12][13] employed for maneuvering the microgripper.…”