Abstract
New solutions are needed for manufacturing small and very precise components and micro-systems for the watch industry, for micro-optics (telecommunication), for medicine (processing biocompatible materials, medical implants, tools for ophthalmic surgery and for living cells manipulations) and even the chemical industry (micro-reactors). A small, very precise EDM machine called Delta 3 was developed at EPFL and connected to a new generation EDM-generator from AGIE. It has a working volume of 8 mm×8 mm×8 mm, a high resolution (5 nm) and a high bandwidth dynamic (600 Hz). These performances are made possible by using a parallel kinematics based on flexure joints, thus completely eliminating friction, wear and backlash. Three linear electromagnetic motors actuate the machine. With the special features of the Delta 3 one can explore new strategies for micro-erosion. The high dynamical behavior of the machine allows better flushing conditions and better gap control. With the improved precision we expect to erode small pieces with a precision of 100 nm, which means an order of magnitude better than the actual state of the art EDM machines on the market. The small overall size of the Delta 3 makes it ideal to be used in a micro-factory.
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