Assembling of Mono-Sized Particles for the Percolation Control of Composition Graded Multi-Phase Packing Arrangements

A particle assembling apparatus was devised, in which individual single particles are positioned at the allotted sites on an ordered lattice according to a given configuration pattem. The apparatus consists of particle conveying arm with a suction tip for holding a single particle, three stock pallets for three kinds of particles, and a configuration pallet. The software that drives mechanical motions of the conveying arm and the suction tip was so designed that the movement of the individual parts follows without delay to the electronic signal guided by the computer program. The particles stocked in the stock pallets are picked up one by one with a suction tip and conveyed to the configuration pallet to be laid on the pre-designed sites. The arranged two dimensional particle array is then stacked layer by layer in a packing bucket to form a three dimensional cubical arrangement. Three stock pallets for three different kinds of particles, and ten thousands of configuration sites are available. One arrangement cycle needs several seconds, depending on the manipulating speed of the mechanical parts. Packing arrangements of three kinds of balls with a diameter of I mm were well fabricated by the present apparatus, and various types of percolation and graded structures have been realized.