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Abstract
Micro-factories are characterized by high modularity, reconfigurability and mobility. To achieve this, the micro-factory needs a conveyor which is able to transport objects in as many degrees of freedom (DoF) as possible, executes optimal trajectories of these objects in terms of energy and precision and is robust to withstand possible malfunctions. In this article, we present the planar conveyance of objects on a digital actuation array following trajectories generated by an adapted A* algorithm. The A* algorithm exploits the predictions of a developed dynamic model of the system to find the optimal paths (in terms of energy) on the conveyor surface. The dynamic model predictions were compared to experimental measurements, obtaining low root-mean-square-errors for all conditions. Uni-dimensional conveyance tests characterized the influence of the control parameters. Then, bi-dimensional motions characterized the conveyor’s performance. From the bi-dimensional test, a position root-mean-square-error of 20 μm was measured for a 1109 μm open-loop controlled trajectory. The modular nature of the array allows easy scaling and avoiding possible malfunctioning zones, increasing the robustness of the micro-conveyor. The experimental tests demonstrate that the proposed device is an interesting alternative for the micro-factory.
Highlights
The increased demand for compact, intelligent and multi-functional products can only be met by adding more sensors, actuators and processors into the product
The micro conveyor is formed with an array of Elementary Digital Actuator (EDA): a Digital Actuator Array (DAA)
Adjacent EDAs share a pair of Fixed Permanent Magnets (FPMs) to decrease the DAA size (Figure 2)
Summary
The increased demand for compact, intelligent and multi-functional products can only be met by adding more sensors, actuators and processors into the product. Miniaturized components have an impact on the manufacturing systems, requiring specialized machinery, techniques and processes to produce these small components. To solve this impact on the manufacturing system, micro-factories are a proposed solution [2,3,4,5]. Micro-factories are characterized by high modularity, reconfigurability and mobility To obtain these characteristics, the micro-factory needs to properly sort, convey and align all materials in each production step. The micro-factory needs to properly sort, convey and align all materials in each production step These tasks, usually requiring micrometric precision, are achieved by the conveyor of such a micro-factory ( micro-conveyor), making it a key element of the system
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