Highly flexible micro-joint with large rotational movement based on elastic design concept

As nano/micro devices become smaller, it is important to manipulate them with highly accurate control. The design of micro-joints is important for highly accurate movement. An elastic joint, one of type of micro-joint that is commonly used for rotational movement, however, has a limitation in terms of its small rotational range. This paper discusses a new micro-joint based on an elastic design concept for large rotational movement. The proposed micro-joint was designed with a simple shape of two thin plates. For large rotational movement with small force, a modified micro-joint with a helical structure was proposed. Through numerical simulation, the proposed micro-joint is estimated to have a large rotation that can be obtained with only a small force.