Microassembly system design: A case study

With the miniaturization of products to the levels of micrometers and the recent developments in microsystem fabrication technologies, there arises a great need for an assembly process for the formation of complex hybrid microsystems. Integration of microcomponents, manufactured from different materials using different micro fabrication techniques, is still a primary challenge since some of the fundamental problems originating from the small size of parts to be manipulated, high precision necessity and the physics of the micro world are still not fully investigated. In this book, design and development of an open-architecture and modular microassembly workstation for efficient and reliable assembly of micromachined parts is presented through detailed inspection of the necessities for design and problems which arise as a result of the nature of the microworld. The analysis of the design process will be useful for the investigation of the inevitable technology of near future, microassembly, with the increasing trend towards miniaturization in every aspect of our lives and will be especially helpful to professionals in Microsystems Technologies.