Micropart Motion on a Surface Due to Controlled Surface Excitation

Many types of devices and handling platforms are used for microscale manipulation and microassembly ranging from microgrippers for individual part handling to work surfaces equipped with discrete actuators capable of simultaneous multiple part handling and manipulation. Micropart handling using discrete actuators suffers from dead zone constraint that requires the size of the part to be larger than the gap between consecutive actuators to ensure part contact with multiple actuators at all times for proper handling. In the context of the dead zone constraint, a new micromanipulation technique was proposed in our previous work based on the concept of active deformable surface. The time-dependent deformation geometry of the micropart carrying surface is controlled by actuators rigidly attached to it. The deformation acceleration imparted by the actuators generates an inertia which, considering other parameters, can induce a motion on the micropart placed on the surface. These parameters include size, mass and material properties of the micropart and the surface roughness characteristics. This research extends our previous work of modeling micropart dynamics and motion from 1D to motion on a 2D surface. The mathematical model is developed and subsequently employed in numerical simulations to study the micropart motion and controlled translocation on the deformable active surface. The analysis allows for the identification of a feasible region of influence of the actuator, effects of surface motion characteristics, micropart convergence at particular locations and evaluation of motion characteristics. The results of this research could be advantageously employed for the development of 2D microconveyors as an integral component of microassembly platforms.