Design, Fabrication, and Testing of a Novel 3D 3-Fingered Electrothermal Microgripper with Multiple Degrees of Freedom

TY - JOUR

T1 - Design, Fabrication, and Testing of a Novel 3D 3-Fingered Electrothermal Microgripper with Multiple Degrees of Freedom

AU - Si, Guoning

AU - Sun, Liangying

AU - Zhang, Zhuo

AU - Zhang, Xuping

PY - 2021/4

Y1 - 2021/4

N2 - This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel three‐dimensional (3D) three‐fingered electrothermal microgripper with multiple degrees of freedom (multi DOFs). Each finger of the microgripper is composed of a V‐shaped electrothermal actuator providing one DOF, and a 3D U‐shaped electrothermal actuator offering two DOFs in the plane perpendicular to the movement of the V‐shaped actuator. As a result, each finger possesses 3D mobilities with three DOFs. Each beam of the actuators is heated externally with the polyimide film. The durability of the polyimide film is tested under different voltages. The static and dynamic properties of the finger are also tested. Experiments show that not only can the microgripper pick and place microobjects, such as micro balls and even highly deformable zebrafish embryos, but can also rotate them in 3D space.

AB - This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel three‐dimensional (3D) three‐fingered electrothermal microgripper with multiple degrees of freedom (multi DOFs). Each finger of the microgripper is composed of a V‐shaped electrothermal actuator providing one DOF, and a 3D U‐shaped electrothermal actuator offering two DOFs in the plane perpendicular to the movement of the V‐shaped actuator. As a result, each finger possesses 3D mobilities with three DOFs. Each beam of the actuators is heated externally with the polyimide film. The durability of the polyimide film is tested under different voltages. The static and dynamic properties of the finger are also tested. Experiments show that not only can the microgripper pick and place microobjects, such as micro balls and even highly deformable zebrafish embryos, but can also rotate them in 3D space.

KW - 3D electrothermal actuator

KW - 3D micro‐manipulation

KW - Microgripper with multi DOFs

KW - Three‐fingered gripper

KW - Zebrafish embryo

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104999994&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/mi12040444

DO - 10.3390/mi12040444

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33921177

SN - 2072-666X

VL - 12

JO - Micromachines

JF - Micromachines

IS - 4

M1 - 444

ER -