This book explains the use of capillary forces as a gripping principle in microscale assembly. Clearly written and well organized, the text integrates physical concepts at the microscale level with practical applications in micromanipulation. Readers get a review of gripping principles and the elements needed to model capillary forces. Moreover, the book provides a description of the simulation and experimental tests developed to study design parameters. A detailed case study concerning the pick and place of balls in a watch’s ball bearing helps readers see how theoretical concepts are applied in practice. Researchers and engineers in the fields of precision assembly, surface science, microfluidics, and micromechanics will find this a highly useful reference for microassembly system design and analysis.
Capillary Forces in Microassembly discusses the use of capillary forces as a gripping principle in microscale assembly. Clearly written and well-organized, this text brings together physical concepts at the microscale with practical applications in micromanipulation. Throughout this work, the reader will find a review of the existing gripping principles, elements to model capillary forces as well as descriptions of the simulation and experimental test bench developed to study the design parameters. Using well-known concepts from surface science (such as surface tension, capillary effects, wettability, and contact angles) as inputs to mechanical models, the amount of effort required to handle micro-components is predicted. These developments are then applied in a case study concerning the pick and place of balls in a watch ball bearing.
Researchers and engineers involved in micromanipulation and precision assembly will find this a highly useful reference for microassembly system design and analysis.