Reconfigurable micro-assembly system for photonics applications

The assembly of parts with dimensions several hundred microns or less is a challenging problem, and has received increasing attention for applications in areas such as telecommunication, automotive, and biotechnology. Current state of the art micro-assembly systems are often specialized devices and software. In this paper we present a reconflgurable assembly system designed to handle micro-parts in such a way that high precision actuation and sensing is used only in the subsystems where it is actually necessary. Aspects related to part gripping, fucturing, sensing, motion and bonding are discussed. Analysis and experiments are presented to show that this architecture can lead to a relatively low cost and flexible assembly solution.