PZT driven chopsticks manipulator for 3-D microspheres assembly

This paper presented three dimensional (3-D) micro-spheres assembly using chopsticks manipulator. There were two cantilevers in the manipulator. The cantilevers were driven by piezoelectric ceramic transducer (PZT). There was a flexural hinge providing the fulcrum in the cantilevers. The rebounding mechanism was also included in the manipulator. Tungsten tipped probes were used to fix in the cantilevers to grip the spheres. CCD sensors, microscopes, and positioning tables were integrated in the experiment setup. The stroke of the two probes was from 0-120 μm. Releasing precision of the spheres had been controlled by accelerated velocity of the manipulator driven by PZT. In the 3-D micro-spheres assembly, the borosilicate glass spheres had been manipulated into different layers. The diameter of the spheres was from 20-40 μm. Because of the scale effect, the diameter 20 μm ones had been assembled into three-layer structure. The diameter 40 μm ones had been assembled into two-layer structure.