Adhesive Gripper - a new approach to handling MEMS

IPA is developing an adhesive gripper for microsystems. The gripper's main features are the use of alcohol as adhesive which results in high flexibility regarding shape, size and material of the units handled. Furthermore the adhesive gripping with fluids of low viscosity provides a centring-effect of the unit toward the gripper as well as a compliance effect when joining parts with multi spot contact. Experimental evaluations show a high reliability and repeatability of the process with very high precision, indicating a new tool for the challenge of microassembly for use by industry.