Flexible Micromanipulators and Micromanipulation, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "E:Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2438

Special Issue Editor

Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Interests: parallel robots; flexible multibody dynamics; compliant mechanisms; reduced order models
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Micromanipulation is becoming increasingly important in a wide range of applications such as micromechanics, medicine, and microsurgery. In microsurgery, micromanipulation is used to perform delicate procedures, such as repairing nerves and ligaments, as well as manipulating cells and biological samples. Microgrippers and micromanipulators are MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems)-based devices that are fabricated using surface micromachining techniques. These microsystems are designed to grip and move micro-objects with precision, without causing any damage. The movement capability of these devices is achieved using compliant structures that deform when actuation forces are applied. This allows for the precise manipulation of micro-objects.

To be effective, micromanipulators must have a range of features, including a wide range of motion, the right stiffness to grasp an object without causing damage, and the ability to translate and orientate an object while controlling one or more degrees of freedom of its end-effector. These requirements pose significant challenges in terms of design and manufacturing. This has led to a growing focus on developing novel, planar, and spatial-compliant micromanipulators that can meet these demanding requirements. Research in this field aims to explore new designs, materials, and fabrication techniques to create more advanced micromanipulators. In conclusion, flexible micromanipulators and micromanipulation are critical tools in many areas of research and technology.

Given the success of the first edition of this Special Issue, a second volume was launched, seeking to gather high-quality research papers and review articles focusing on new possibilities and advancements in fields such as microsurgery, precision engineering, micromechanics, and medicine.

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Cammarata
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microgripper
  • microactuation
  • microassembly
  • compliant mechanism
  • microsurgery
  • precision engineering
  • micromechanics

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 9868 KiB  
Article
Compliance Modeling and Kinetostatic Analysis of a Generalized 3-PSS Compliant Parallel Micro-Motion Platform
by Jun Ren and Aojie Lan
Micromachines 2024, 15(3), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030354 - 29 Feb 2024
Viewed by 588
Abstract
In order to expand the range of motion performance of the 3-PSS-compliant parallel micro-motion platform, a variable inclination angle of the mechanism’s guide rails was introduced to construct a category of generalized 3-PSS compliant parallel micro-motion platforms with distinct configurations (exhibiting different motion [...] Read more.
In order to expand the range of motion performance of the 3-PSS-compliant parallel micro-motion platform, a variable inclination angle of the mechanism’s guide rails was introduced to construct a category of generalized 3-PSS compliant parallel micro-motion platforms with distinct configurations (exhibiting different motion performances) but identical motion patterns (three translational degrees of freedom). The compliance and kinetostatics of such micro-motion platform are modeled and analyzed. Firstly, the compliance model is established based on the coordinate transformation method. Then, simplifying the micro-motion platform into a spring system, the kinetostatic model in terms of input force–output displacement is established based on the compliance model using the compliance matrix method. For practical application considerations, the kinetostatic model in terms of input displacement–output displacement is further derived based on the input force–output displacement model. Then, the correctness of the established compliance model and kinetostatic model is successively verified through finite element simulation. Finally, using two specified motion trajectories (spatial spiral trajectory and planar circular trajectory) as examples, an analysis is conducted on the influence of guide rail inclination angle variations on the kinetostatic performance of the micro-motion platform. This analysis serves as guidance for the rational design of such micro-motion platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flexible Micromanipulators and Micromanipulation, 2nd Edition)
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24 pages, 8943 KiB  
Article
Design of a Multi-Mode Hybrid Micro-Gripper for Surface Mount Technology Component Assembly
by Gianmauro Fontana, Nicola Iacono, Simone Pio Negri and Gabriele Papadia
Micromachines 2023, 14(7), 1464; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14071464 - 21 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1501
Abstract
In the last few decades, industrial sectors such as smart manufacturing and aerospace have rapidly developed, contributing to the increase in production of more complex electronic boards based on SMT (Surface Mount Technology). The assembly phases in manufacturing these electronic products require the [...] Read more.
In the last few decades, industrial sectors such as smart manufacturing and aerospace have rapidly developed, contributing to the increase in production of more complex electronic boards based on SMT (Surface Mount Technology). The assembly phases in manufacturing these electronic products require the availability of technological solutions able to deal with many heterogeneous products and components. The small batch production and pre-production are often executed manually or with semi-automated stations. The commercial automated machines currently available offer high performance, but they are highly rigid. Therefore, a great effort is needed to obtain machines and devices with improved reconfigurability and flexibility for minimizing the set-up time and processing the high heterogeneity of components. These high-level objectives can be achieved acting in different ways. Indeed, a work station can be seen as a set of devices able to interact and cooperate to perform a specific task. Therefore, the reconfigurability of a work station can be achieved through reconfigurable and flexible devices and their hardware and software integration and control For this reason, significant efforts should be focused on the conception and development of innovative devices to cope with the continuous downscaling and increasing variety of the products in this growing field. In this context, this paper presents the design and development of a multi-mode hybrid micro-gripper devoted to manipulate and assemble a wide range of micro- and meso-SMT components with different dimensions and proprieties. It exploits two different handling technologies: the vacuum and friction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flexible Micromanipulators and Micromanipulation, 2nd Edition)
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