A pneumatic air table realized by micro-EDM

Author

Guenat, Olivier T. ; Hirata, Toru ; Akashi, Tomoyuki ; Grétillat, Marc-Alexis ; De Rooij, Nicolaas F.

Author_Institution

Inst. of Microtechnol., Neuchatel Univ., Switzerland

Volume

7

Issue

4

fYear

1998

fDate

12/1/1998 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

380

Lastpage

386

Abstract

This paper presents a one-dimensional (1-D) pneumatic actuator fabricated by combining several micromachining technologies such as microelectrodischarge machining (micro-EDM) as well as isotropic and anisotropic wet etching. Unlike the existing pneumatic actuators, which usually convey the object by means of friction, this device employs the dynamic pressure of inclined driving jets in order to enhance the horizontal transportation performance. Typical slider speeds of up to 5 cm/s can be obtained. Comparisons between different types of sliders are presented. By an appropriate patterning of the slider bottom surface, the speed could be increased by 50%-60%. Similarly, a maximum tangential force of 20 μN (equivalent shear stress: 2.2 μN/mm²) was obtained using this dynamic pressure concept. The latter is about two times larger than that of a slider with a smooth surface

Keywords

conveyors; electrical discharge machining; etching; jets; microactuators; micromachining; pneumatic systems; 5 cm/s; conveyor; dynamic pressure; gas jet; micro-EDM; microelectrodischarge machining; microfactory; micromachining; microtransportation; one-dimensional pneumatic actuator; pneumatic air table; slider; wet etching; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Corrugated surfaces; Electrostatics; Fabrication; Friction; Machining; Micromachining; Pneumatic actuators; Silicon; Transportation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/84.735345

Filename

735345