First investigations on force mechanisms in liquid solidification micro-gripping

The paper reports on ongoing research on liquid solidification based micro-gripping. First, micro-grip technology and the features of liquid solidification gripping are introduced. Next, the physical mechanisms of adhesion in terms of the role they play in solidification gripping are described. A research prototype design and first experimental results, focused on the grip force that can be generated, are then reported on. It is shown that the main parameters which influence the grip force are the surface roughness of the part, the material combinations and freezing temperature. Forces are measured in the range of 0.6 up to 5.3 N with a contact area of about 1 to 2 mm
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