미세 물체 조작을 위한 3젓가락형 집게의 설계 및 제작

Design and Fabrication of a 3 Chopstick Gripper for Microparts

A new type of gripper for micrometer-size objects is developed using piezoelectric multi-layer benders. It is composed of three chopsticks, two of which are designed to grip micro-objects. The third one is reserved for helping the two when objects are released from the chopsticks. It is well known that a micro object is much easier to grasp than to release it after holding it. The electrostatic force between the chopsticks and an object is believed to be the main cause of adhesion in a dry environment. The surface tension becomes very important when liquids are present or in a liquid. The third auxiliary chopsticks is introduced to solve there surface effects. All the three chopsticks are made of tungsten wires with sharpened ends by etching. When grasping microparts, the two chopsticks are utilized, and, when releasing them anywhere the parts are located, the third one reduces the electrostatic force between the objects and the chopstick may be to help the other two chopsticks to hold an objects in a desired orientation. We constructed the three chopstick gripoer for micro objects and test their function by holding and releasing an object of a diameter of 100 micrometers. We make use of open loop voltage control. The bender displacement resolution is sub-micrometer. The gripping forces, about tens of mN are obtained. The experiment shows that the third auxiliary chopstick functions effectively.