Micromechanical engineering: a basis for the low-cost manufacturing of mechanical microdevices using microequipment

Abstract

Microelectronics-based micromechanics is rather limited for the construction of 3D micromechanisms with moving parts. We propose to use microequipment to transfer the technologies of mechanical engineering to the microdomain. We show that equipment precision increases linearly with decreasing size. To make microequipment, we suggest a series of equipment generations with gradually decreasing dimensions. Miniaturization of equipment will reduce power consumption and floor area occupied. Coupled with automation, it will drastically reduce the cost of microequipment. This in its turn will reduce the cost of micromechanical devices manufactured by microequipment. Microequipment-based manufacturing will also increase throughput by the concurrent operation of large numbers of low-cost microequipment pieces. The low cost and high productivity of microequipment-based manufacturing will widen the range of feasible micromechanical applications, both single-unit and mass. We propose designs for microvalve fluid filters, capillary heat exchangers, electromagnetic and hydraulic step motors that could be easily implemented by micromechanical engineering technologies. Hybrid technologies combining massively parallel microequipment based manufacturing and batch manufacturing may also be promising.