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This paper aims to propose a method to reduce the resistance of silicon-based V-shaped electrothermal microactuator (VEM) by applying a surface sputtering process.

Four VEM’s samples have been fabricated using traditional silicon on insulator (SOI)-Micro-electro-mechanical System (MEMS) technology, three of them are coated with a thin layer of platinum on the top surface by sputtering technique with different sputtered times and the other is original. The displacements of the VEM are calculated and simulated to evaluate the advantages of sputtering method.

The measured results show that the average resistance of the sputtered structures is approximately 1.16, 1.55 and 2.4 times lower than the non-sputtering sample corresponding to the sputtering time of 1.5, 3 and 6 min. Simulation results confirmed that the maximum displacement of the sputtered VEM is almost 1.45 times larger than non-sputtering one in the range of voltage from 8 to 20 V. The experimental displacements are also measured to validate the better performance of the sputtered samples.

The experimental results demonstrated the better displacement of the VEM structure after using the platinum sputtering process. The improvement can be considered and applied for enhancing displacement as well as decreasing the driving voltage of the other electrothermal microactuators like U- or Z-shaped structures while combining with the low-cost SOI-MEMS micromachining technology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of fused filament fabrication (FFF) of a compliant gripper (CG) using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material. The paper studies the applicability of different CG designs and the efficiency of some design parameters.

After reviewing a number of different papers, two designs were selected for a number of exploratory experiments. Using design of experiments (DOE) techniques to identify important design parameters. Finally, the efficiency of the parts was investigated.

The research finds that a simpler design sacrifices some effectiveness in exchange for a remarkable decrease in production cost. Decreasing infill percentage of previous designs and 3D printing them, out of TPU, experimenting with different parameters yields functional products. Moreover, the paper identified some key parameters for further optimization attempts of such prototypes.

The cost of conducting FFF experiments for TPU increases dramatically with product size, number of parameters studied and the number of experiments. Therefore, all three of these factors had to be kept at a minimum. Further confirmatory experiments encouraged.

This paper addresses an identified need to investigate applications of FFF and TPU in manufacturing functional efficient flexible mechanisms, grippers specifically. While most research focused on designing for increased performance, some research lacks discussion on design philosophy, as well as manufacturing issues. As the needs for flexible grippers vary from high-performance grippers to lower performance grippers created for specific functions/conditions, some effectiveness can be sacrificed to reduce cost, reduce complexity and improve applicability in different robotic assemblies and environments.

Wafer bonding is a key process for 3 D advanced packaging of integrated circuits. It requires very high accuracy for the wafer alignment. To solve the problems of large movement stroke, position calibration error and low production efficiency in optical alignment, this paper aims to propose a new wafer magnetic alignment technology (MAT) which is based on tunnel magneto resistance effect. MAT can realize micro distance alignment and reduces the design and manufacturing difficulty of wafer bonding equipment.

The current methods and existing problems of wafer optical alignment are introduced, and the mechanism and realization process of wafer magnetic alignment are proposed. Micro magnetic column (MMC) marks are designed on the wafer by the semiconductor manufacturing process. The mathematical model of the space magnetic field of the MMC is established, and the magnetic field distribution of the MMC alignment is numerically simulated and visualized. The relationship between the alignment accuracy and the MMC diameter, MMC remanence, MMC thickness and sensor measurement height was studied.

The simulation analysis shows that the overlapping double MMCs can align the wafer with accuracy within 1 µm and can control the bonding distance within the micrometer range to improve the alignment efficiency.

Magnetic alignment technology provides a new idea for wafer bonding alignment, which is expected to improve the accuracy and efficiency of wafer bonding.